Peter Morris's Cloud House Brings Candy-Coloured Arches to Gospel Oak, London
Peter Morris, an architect, has finalized Cloud House, which consists of two semi-detached residences located in Gospel Oak, north London, near Hampstead Heath. One of the homes will be occupied by Morris, his partner Emily Kennedy, and their family, while the other is designated for clients. This development replaced a Victorian structure plagued by rising damp. Morris's proposal to Camden Council endured a lengthy approval process, with design and construction taking a decade. The council valued his personal ties to the project. The building's design reflects the surrounding architecture, featuring a scalloped pink edge and light polystyrene stone cladding, spanning three levels with living areas, bedrooms, and a glass skylight. Community support facilitated its timely completion, and Morris aspires to undertake similar projects in the future.
Key facts
- Cloud House is a pair of semi-detached homes by architect Peter Morris in Gospel Oak, north London, off the southern edge of Hampstead Heath.
- The design and construction process took ten years, following a multi-year planning application to Camden Council.
- One home is occupied by Morris, his partner Emily Kennedy and their family; the other belongs to clients about to move in.
- The project replaced a deteriorating Victorian property on the site that had rising damp and needed urgent repairs.
- The façade's arches echo the Grade I-listed St Martin's Church across the street, and its volumes match neighbouring massing and rooflines.
- The house is clad in light polystyrene stone with rough render, chosen for cost-effectiveness, thermal mass, insulation, mouldability, low weight and waterproofing.
- Interior details include painted arches, arch-shaped doors and ball-shaped plaster mouldings reminiscent of Sir John Soane's Museum.
- Photographs of the project were taken by Will Pryce, and the architect's website is petermorrisarchitects.com.
Entities
Artists
- Peter Morris
- Emily Kennedy
- Will Pryce
- Ellie Stathaki
- Tadao Ando
- Rem Koolhaas
- John Soane
Institutions
- Camden Council
- St Martin's Church
- Sir John Soane's Museum
- Wallpaper*
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- Bartlett School of Architecture
- Thames & Hudson
- petermorrisarchitects.com
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Gospel Oak
- Hampstead Heath
- Greece
- Thessaloniki