Vex
Designed by award-winning architecture practice Chance de Silva, Vex is a curved, fluted concrete house in London that was born out of a unique collaboration with musician/composer Scanner (Robin Rimbaud).
Located in Stoke Newington, London, Vex is a three storey studio house with living spaces on the top floor and a roof terrace that is accessed via a glazed roof pavilion. The design of the building has been inspired by taking Erik Satie’s ‘Vexations’ piece of music as a starting. The looping, repetitive piano work of the piece, which lasts around 18 hours in continuous performance, is reflected in the building’s fluted surface and continuously changing curvature.
The project was much more than simply creating a new building inspired by the music. It was also an architecture/art collaboration with musician Scanner to create an integral sound installation. Scanner’s music was made by modifying and manipulating MP3 sound files of the building’s concrete pour, recorded on site.
The unique and bold project has naturally proved to be a head turner, both in London and further afield. Most recently, Vex was one of 93 buildings across the capital to be shortlisted for the RIBA London Awards – a remarkable achievement for Chance de Silva.
Prior to work beginning, the site upon which Vex now sits was a derelict space consisting of unused garages that were a blight to the local area. Steve and Wendy, from Chance de Silva, were tasked with transforming the site. Their brief included requirements to engage in artistic collaboration.
Beginning with the building’s exterior, the fluted surface and continuously changing curvature was achieved using crafted, boat-like formwork faced with corrugated steel sheeting. The building’s exterior was poured one whole floor at a time. This was one of a number of challenges on the project as you can never quite tell how the concrete will turn out.
Another standout of the exterior is the use of hand blown glass ‘stoppers’ to fill the holes left by the restraining bolts in the concrete. There are approximately 400 of these ‘stoppers’. They are decorative pieces and, although they don’t transmit light to the interior, they do sparkle by catching the sun or the internal light.
Moving into the building, the ground floor comprises a studio, workshop or third bedroom, a toilet and utility space. The ground floor has a raw and industrial feel by reusing metal from the formwork and a significant amount of internal concrete. The first floor includes a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and room that can be used as a study, dressing room or guest bedroom. The first floor has more of a domestic feel with wood floors. The second floor operates as the living and kitchen area. The kitchen design emulates the timber construction from the casting of the concrete. The bonus roof terrace is a private, enclosed deck open to the sun and stars. It is accessed via a ship’s ladder on the second floor.
The triple glazed oak window heights, patterns and sizes have all been influenced by the musical score of ‘Vexations’. Sliding and folding doors at the living room window open the space up and flood it with natural light. Other design highlights include circular mosaics to the bathrooms and kitchen and hidden LEDs to ceiling recesses to illuminate the concrete ceiling.
The construction of Vex took over two years to complete. The intricate design of the building was successfully achieved thanks to a close knit team of architects, a sound artist, engineers, carpenters, builders, a glass blower and neighbours. Recognition from the RIBA is well deserved for a truly unique and distinctive piece of architecture.
TBA Contractors Ltd
TBA Contractors Ltd is a main contractor, operating on residential projects. The company works on technically challenging projects, where intricate and creative bespoke design work is essential and has built up a reputation for overcoming difficult obstacles.
TBA work mainly with architects & designers such as Chance de Silva, Quay2c and Outline and over the years has been fortunate to work on some really interesting projects, including Blue Plaque properties, Grade II listed houses and riverside dwellings and VEX. The company worked with Chance de Silva and Simon Head on One Lancs, which won the coveted Single Residence 5 Star London Property Award in 2016.
Barry Phillips, TBA Contractors Ltd, said:
“Having worked on several projects previously with Chance de Silva, building a good working relationship with them along the way, we were appointed as the main contractor on VEX.
“From the outset VEX looked to be a very exciting and challenging proposition – the main considerations were the formwork design and placement of the concrete. This was our most difficult build to date, and will probably remain that way. We consider ourselves to be extremely lucky to have been part of the construction process that brought VEX through to completion.”
Barry added:
“At TBA Contractors Ltd we pride ourselves on the quality of the finish we can achieve. We boast 35 years’ of building experience and with this comes a pragmatic approach to problem solving.”
