64 Old Church Street
64 Old Church Street is a Grade II listed three-bedroom family home. It is also known as Cohen House having been commissioned by the Cohen family in the 1930’s. Designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, who as a pair collaborated on two other buildings in this country with both being listed (De la Warr Pavillion, and Shrub’s Wood). The property has been the primary residence of the current owner, Lady Helen Hamlyn and her late husband Paul, since its purchase from the Cohen family.
The property was extended and refurbished in the 1990’s under the guidance of Sir Norman Foster and his eponymous practice.
Our Role
“A wonderful example of how off-site construction techniques can be utilised to create a sensitive addition to a much-admired heritage building.”
When a subsequent planning permission was granted for an additional extension above the existing garage, Radcliffes along with a highly regarded professional team were commissioned to design and deliver a complex planning consent which in its approval heavily influenced the design, procurement and construction of the extension. The extension itself was to provide self-contained living space to complement the existing portion of the first floor occupied by the resident caretakers.
Our Impact
There were constraints due the nature of the planning permission, with certain aspects of the extension needing to be capable of being removed and reinstated to its original appearance.
The client aspiration was to have the works completed as quickly as possible with the least disruption to neighbouring residents in Kensington and Chelsea and without effecting the regular occupation of the existing house.
This led to an innovative proposal from the design team: a prefabricated pod system, installed over a supporting steel framing structure.
