Sol de Arcilla

Sol de Arcilla is a deep retrofit and refurbishment of an apartment in Hackney, London.

Originally built by the Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes, Gibson Gardens is tenement housing opposite one of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ cemeteries of London; Abney Park. Inspired by the clay that the buildings were built with and on, the concept for the retrofit was to bring the warmth and richness of the stock and red brick visible through the kitchen window back into the apartment itself, through the introduction of warm pigmented natural clay plaster finishes. Contemporary details compliment an industrial material palette suitable for the building - terrazzo floor tiles containing recycled brick and slate aggregate from demolished Victorian terraced housing compliment a clay plaster Mondrian wall and sun that continuously shines, creating a vibrant backdrop for the client’s peaceful life in the gardens.