Take a peek inside this eccentric Wood Lane residence by Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects

The owners of 6 Wood Lane envisioned the idiosyncratic, London-based home as a self-build project for more than seven years. Completed in February 2015 by Birds Portchmouth Russum Architects, the 4-story home makes the best of its narrow site with its eccentric design, from its curved form hovering above the street to its quirky interior details. Currently, the home is longlisted for the 2017 RIBA House of the Year Award and was recognized in the regional 2017 RIBA London Awards.

“The architect’s ambition was to create a home for urban living, which contrasts tightly planned functional spaces with generous living spaces to maximize daylight and views,” the RIBA House of the Year jury commented in their report. 

“The building achieves this spatial contrast: a small entrance, tiny bathrooms and boat-like staircases, uncurl into connected living spaces, with views between areas in the house and out into the garden,” the jury continues. 

The living area features an open-plan kitchen/dining and living space with an elevated crystalline conservatory on the south side, as well as an external terrace above the entrance, the architects describe. Made from cold-formed timber and resin boat building technology, the living area was prefabricated off-site and then craned in during construction.

“A slim storage beneath the entrance seat is perfectly sized for tennis racquets; a luminous green interior to the post box; a curved blue desk for making sculpture; a yellow floor beneath a quirky, zig-zag, glazed winter garden dome and a functional shed hidden in a cosy garden come together to create a surprising house that will engage and provoke debate for its occupants and visitors,“ the RIBA jury commented.

All photos courtesy of RIBA.