Exhibition: Town-House

A showcase of projects which demonstrate lessons learnt in adapting and reconfiguring London’s terraces in an ever growing city.

Born out of the rapid population growth and radial expansion of the capital during the Georgian, Victorian and interwar housebuilding eras, London has evolved a unique approach to the home.

With much of the city’s housing stock designed using a pattern book that evolved incrementally over time, whole streets were conceived at once creating the now familiar, uniform London terrace. As a result, much of London has a unique quality; one of clay, soot-stained facades, hierarchy and proportion. Many of these architectural qualities are as important to our affection for the city in the 21st century as they were in the 19th century.

Today, London faces its most defining challenge - to rapidly meet the demand for new housing whilst satisfying this desire for well considered, high quality and characterful new developments. With the expansion of London constrained by the Metropolitan Green Belt, this exhibition highlights the opportunities for higher density developments in London’s towns.

In direct response to this task, eleven key projects chart Architecture for London’s approach to the home. The lessons learnt through restoring, adapting and reconfiguring London’s terraces inform a considered approach to the design of new housing. By adapting these principles to contemporary life we aim to create sustainable, accessible and flexible new homes that can support our diverse communities.