DROO + NAME reinterpret the bow window for residential building in central london

at the heart of london, minutes away from buckingham palace, the royal parks, and westminster cathedral, a new residential development offers a contemporary interpretation of the classic bow window. designed by michel da costa gonçalves (DROO) and nathalie rozencwajg (NAME), the project comprises a collection of 28 apartments and three townhouses set within a dense urban context. the challenge for the design team was to respectfully integrate a distinctive building within the traditional urban fabric of the city center.

image by NAARO (main image by michel da costa conçalves)

dealing with a complex site, spanning over two streets of different character, DROO and NAME devised an architectural response to ensure continuity while introducing a unique design. VI castle lane’s mansion sized core building is merged with domestically scaled volumes of interpretive townhouses, while the dichotomy of scales between the taller apartment blocks and townhouses is resolved through the sculpted volume of convex and concave bends of curved glass.

image by NAARO

the architects worked with the advanced façade unit at arup to create a window that would extend elegantly from the building. simultaneously responding to local constraints and offering a new spatial typology, the façade plane ‘peels off’ into novel bow windows. the placing of these apertures according to each living room permits a semi-external spacial experience that also enlarges the interior living space.

image by NAARO

image by NAARO

image by michel da costa conçalves

image by NAARO

image by NAARO

image by NAARO

project info:

design: michel da costa gonçalves (DROO) and nathalie rozencwajg (NAME)
name: VI castle lane
location: london, UK
status: complete
photography: NAARO