Inside a Danish Architect's Mid-Century House - Timeless Nordic Design on a London Terrace

[Celerity]

https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/homing-in-johan-hybschmann-danish-house/



For our latest Homing In film, Matt Gibberd drops in on Johan Hybschmann, the co-founder of Archmongers, and Anita Freeman in their reimagined 1970s home in Hackney. Reconstructed with a minimal material palette and furnished with nods to Johan’s Danish heritage, Matt discovers a place of connectedness and retreat.



Their home, which they share with their son Luca, is in a part of Hackney they know and love. Anita was the first to find it; she saw the brick terrace come up for sale and took a solo trip to view it, despite Johan’s hesitation. (They’d only recently finished work on their previous flat.) The opportunity to gain a garden and another bedroom beckoned and soon the house was undergoing a back-to-brick renovation.



“The way this has been planned by Johan, the layout makes such good use of the space that’s here and is so economical with it, that we can still feel connected to each other, whilst having some separation,” says Anita, who works in paediatric clinical psychology.



Knitting themselves into the community was fundamental to the success of the move. Behind the house is a shared walkway that connects the other houses on the terrace. It’s become a magnet for the kids who live here. “The community garden and walkway was left unmanaged, ” Anita recalls. “I was able to get hold of an authority from the council to start planting and build a community garden. We now hold monthly events there.” “It’s a gift to be among so many cultures and social diversities,” Johan adds. “I think it’s a gift for Luca.” Their “grown up” garden now includes a small pond that extends that sense of community to Hackney’s resident wildlife.

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