Archway Studios, a two-bedroom home built into a 19th-century rail viaduct in Walworth, South London, has been listed for sale at £1.1 million. The property was named House of the Year at the New London Architecture Awards in 2013.
Design and Construction
The Rightmove listing describes Archway Studios as “an award-winning example of adaptive reuse, transforming a 19th-century rail viaduct into an uplifting, unique home.” Designed by Didier Ryan Architects, the home spans approximately 1,665 sq ft, with interior spaces shaped to the structure’s historic bends and bows and concentrated around a three-storey atrium that frames the sky to capture and draw in natural light.
The property, marketed by The Modern House, London, features “a weathered Corten steel exterior shell, a slender three-storey glass atrium, and a soundproof acoustic envelope designed to isolate the interior from railway noise.”
Interior Layout
The ground floor contains a spacious reception room, bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room. The first floor houses another bedroom and bathroom, plus a store room and mezzanine. The second floor accommodates a study.
According to the listing, the design centres on “a slender, soaring atrium that lets light permeate an open-plan ground floor, with an adjoining bedroom and separate study on tiered levels.” A whitewashed colour scheme and glass ceiling create an open feel, with distinct zones for cooking, dining, and lounging. A mezzanine-level home library and a first bedroom with built-in storage are also on the ground floor.
Award Recognition
Judges at the New London Architecture Awards said: “The project works with the constraints of an inner city industrial site and the challenges of a fortified design transforming a narrow plot with limited access to light, aspect and views into an uplifting space.” They added that as one of the 10,000 arches that dissect neighbourhoods across London, it is “a model that can be adapted for broad community benefit and regeneration.”
