Designing a home for a client, with a set brief and budget, is part and parcel of being an architect. But what happens when they become their own client? The home of an architect will often embody their taste, outlook and ethos, with a little experimentation on the side. These homes from the archives all give a glimpse of what happens when an architect has free reign to design their own dream home.
The reimagined grand palazzo
When architect Patrizio Fradiani stepped into the 14th century palazzo that would be his new home, it had been sealed shut for more than a decade. More than that, the previous tenants had left furniture, tableware and even cutlery which was all, rather eerily, covered in a thick layer of dust. It was the definition of a fixer upper, and Patrizio took on the task with gusto, retaining original elements like the incredible frescoes and installing forward-focused flourishes like a neon-yellow glass headboard in the bedroom and a matching cubicle in the bathroom.
A Venetian bolthole inspired by an Italian master
Rome-based architect Massimo Adario was deeply influenced by Carlo Scarpa when designing his venetian pied-à-terre. ‘We are a stone’s throw from the Querini Stampalia Foundation,’ Massimo says of the Venetian cultural institution, which Scarpa part renovated in a famously sensitive style. ‘The way he intervened with classical architecture by using traditional materials in a contemporary language inspired the way I revolutionised this apartment.’
A brutalist bunker is this architect’s dream retreat
The holiday home of Adam Kane is perhaps what comes to mind when somebody envisages an architect’s home. The brutalist structure is all clean lines and sparsely furnished rooms, which the architect finds to be soothing rather than stark. ‘We’re asked, “How do you live in it?” often,’ Adam says. His answer? ‘Easily, because everything’s hidden away.’
The London flat with genius storage solutions
It takes an architect’s eye to inject a tiny floorplan with such colour. Luckily, Jenny Fleming was trained to do just that. When a one-bedroom flat became available in the iconic Keeling House, she leapt at the chance. The previous owner had rented it out, so the decor was tired and clinical. ‘The term that springs to mind is “dentist’s surgery!”’ Jenny says, laughing. ‘It was really cold, which is the last thing you want in a concrete building.’ And so, a vivid yellow kitchen, parquet flooring and velvet curtains were installed to warm things up.
The east London home with its own viewing platform
Architect Mark Shaw, founder of Studioshaw, had already spent a whole year negotiating 27 different party wall agreements before he stumbled on the idea that allowed him to build the crow’s nest-like extra level on his compact home. It is just one of the smart ideas that make his home, built on the plot of a former MOT garage, special. Another is the sunken bathtub in the courtyard garden.
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The architect who designed his own downsizing apartment
Designing your own apartment in a luxurious residential tower isn’t exactly everybody’s idea of downsizing. That’s exactly what architect Arthur Casas did as he found himself yearning for a smaller space. ‘I had long imagined living in a more compact apartment,’ he says. The apartment’s interior was designed to eliminate any wasted space; everything is organised through integrated elements and custom-made furniture carefully tailored to Arthur’s lifestyle.
The RIBA London Award winning home of Tikari Works
Built on a tiny slice of land that was previously a garage, this home is a study in how to make the most of a tiny footprint with innovative uses of space. Tikari Works’ founders Ty and Nicola Tikari approached the design of the property in a holistic way, at a slower pace. The materials used on the exterior – brick, concrete and timber – are celebrated inside, but decoration is, true to expectations of an architect’s home, sparse. ‘When the sun shines through the timber screen in the living room and throws patterns of light across the walls and floors, there’s no better place to relax,’ says Nicola.
