The KA will have our usual bookstall at the Kennington Village Fête
inviting donations for new but not in perfect condition books
contributed by The Kennington Bookshop.
All funds raised go to 'Secret Santa' and 'Grey Power'.
28 June 2011
23 June 2011
22 June 2011
One fine stay in London
One fine stay in London
A new London accommodation service lets you stay in a gorgeous, posh home in a smart part of town. And it's not even that pricey if there's a group of you.
- guardian.co.uk,
- Article history
London calling ... St Mary's Gardens, a Georgian terrace in Southwark
20 June 2011
19 June 2011
Don’t take our cops
News
Don’t take our cops
Friday, 17 June 2011
CALLS have been made to halt the decline in police numbers in a borough reeling from a spate of murders and London’s highest rate of knife crime.
17 June 2011
15 June 2011
Special Events at Beaconsfield
Special Events at Beaconsfield
Monica Ross
DVD Launch
acts of memory 2005-2010
solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations from memory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Friday 24 June 2011, 6.30-8.30pm as part of SLAM LAST Fridays
Upper Gallery 1 & Canteen Gallery 2
Begun as a response to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by police in London in July 2005, Monica Ross first challenged herself to learn and publicly recite from memory all 30? articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the performance rightsrepeated—an act of memory at Beaconsfield, 2005.
The DVD traces the evolution of Ross’s solo act at Beaconsfield in 2005 through performances 01-30 of the extensive, collaborative work Anniversary—an act of memory: solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations from memory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights taking place in contexts as diverse as The House of Commons, Brighton Seafront and the Women’s Library.
The DVD acts of memory 2005-2010 is published by Live Art Development Agency.
With the release of acts of memory 2005-2010, we celebrate the outset of the UK Tour 2011-2013 which will take Acts 31-60 to new contexts across Britain. http://www.actsofmemory.net
This event forms part of the South London Art map LAST Fridays: the late night opening of all galleries in South London on the last Friday of every month.
http://www.southlondonartmap.
Ian Hinchliffe – the Memorial
Tribute to the Northern legend and sometime bad boy of the British Performance/Live Art scene.
Saturday 2 July 2011, 2-8pm
Upper Gallery 1 & Canteen Gallery 2
Join us on 2nd July at Beaconsfield as some of the many great performers, artists, musicians, organisers, publishers and friends who were touched by Ian Hinchliffe will celebrate his life/art. The event will include a fully restored screening of the film ‘The Poppy Seed Affair’ from 1979 and other interviews and rare footage never seen before. As Hinchliffe often commented, “It’s not over when the gig ends”, so who knows how the day will conclude…
If you knew Ian and would like to participate in the memorial with a performance or a tribute please contact Roger Ely: rogerely52@hotmail.com
Currently on FlatScreen...
Kate Allen
Nineteen thirty-six
This enigmatic short film, Nineteen thirty-six, speaks of history – of art, architecture and gender politics.
31 May – 17 July 2011
Tuesday – Friday, 11am-5pm
FlatScreen: Canteen Gallery 2
22 Newport Street
London SE11 6AY
info@beaconsfield.ltd.uk
+44 (0)20 7582 6465
http://www.beaconsfield.ltd.uk
Beaconsfield is a Regularly Funded Organisation of Arts Council England and looks forward to working with ACE as a National Portfolio Organisation.
Beaconsfield’s Canteen and Arch Galleries are fully accessible but we regret that there is no wheelchair access to our Upper Gallery. Please call in advance for a parking space.
Monica Ross
DVD Launch
acts of memory 2005-2010
solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations from memory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Friday 24 June 2011, 6.30-8.30pm as part of SLAM LAST Fridays
Upper Gallery 1 & Canteen Gallery 2
Begun as a response to the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes by police in London in July 2005, Monica Ross first challenged herself to learn and publicly recite from memory all 30? articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the performance rightsrepeated—an act of memory at Beaconsfield, 2005.
The DVD traces the evolution of Ross’s solo act at Beaconsfield in 2005 through performances 01-30 of the extensive, collaborative work Anniversary—an act of memory: solo, collective and multi-lingual recitations from memory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights taking place in contexts as diverse as The House of Commons, Brighton Seafront and the Women’s Library.
The DVD acts of memory 2005-2010 is published by Live Art Development Agency.
With the release of acts of memory 2005-2010, we celebrate the outset of the UK Tour 2011-2013 which will take Acts 31-60 to new contexts across Britain. http://www.actsofmemory.net
This event forms part of the South London Art map LAST Fridays: the late night opening of all galleries in South London on the last Friday of every month.
http://www.southlondonartmap.
Ian Hinchliffe – the Memorial
Tribute to the Northern legend and sometime bad boy of the British Performance/Live Art scene.
Saturday 2 July 2011, 2-8pm
Upper Gallery 1 & Canteen Gallery 2
Join us on 2nd July at Beaconsfield as some of the many great performers, artists, musicians, organisers, publishers and friends who were touched by Ian Hinchliffe will celebrate his life/art. The event will include a fully restored screening of the film ‘The Poppy Seed Affair’ from 1979 and other interviews and rare footage never seen before. As Hinchliffe often commented, “It’s not over when the gig ends”, so who knows how the day will conclude…
If you knew Ian and would like to participate in the memorial with a performance or a tribute please contact Roger Ely: rogerely52@hotmail.com
Currently on FlatScreen...
Kate Allen
Nineteen thirty-six
This enigmatic short film, Nineteen thirty-six, speaks of history – of art, architecture and gender politics.
31 May – 17 July 2011
Tuesday – Friday, 11am-5pm
FlatScreen: Canteen Gallery 2
22 Newport Street
London SE11 6AY
info@beaconsfield.ltd.uk
+44 (0)20 7582 6465
http://www.beaconsfield.ltd.uk
Beaconsfield is a Regularly Funded Organisation of Arts Council England and looks forward to working with ACE as a National Portfolio Organisation.
Beaconsfield’s Canteen and Arch Galleries are fully accessible but we regret that there is no wheelchair access to our Upper Gallery. Please call in advance for a parking space.
2 for 1 on tickets at your local theatre
Support your Local Theatre by seeing:
The Wild Goose Chase
A Comedy by
John Fletcher
“What should I marry for? Why should I be a charge to keep a wife of mine own,
when other honest married men’s will ease me – and thank me too!”
when other honest married men’s will ease me – and thank me too!”
In this hilarious romantic comedy, self-styled ladies’ man, Mirabel, returns from his Italian travels intent on continuing his womanising ways, but the lovely Oriana, to whom he promised marriage some years earlier, has other ideas, and determines to use every trick in the book to chase down her wild goose. Meanwhile Mirabel’s friends are also having trouble with the ladies. Fletcher’s, The Wild Goose Chase is a lively comedy of romantic intrigue with timeless appeal.
Full of irony and easy wit, it demonstrates that where commitment is concerned, men and women have changed very little over the centuries. There is just a touch of Taming of the Shrew about this play, but the women in the play are intelligent and independent, vigorous and appealing and it’s the men who get their comeuppance!
Part of the continuing Lost Classics programme at the White Bear the ESPlayers are proud to present the first professional run, since the 17th C, of this Classic Jacobean Comedy. It was written by Shakespeare’s protégé and collaborator, John Fletcher who, after Shakespeare’s death became the chief playwright for Shakespeare’s own company, and went on to be highly influential in the newly emerging genre of Restoration Comedy. ‘The Wild Goose Chase’ is a wonderful example of the sharp but urbane wit that characterises this influence.
CAST LIST
Mirabel Nik Drake
Pinac Danny Wainwright
Belleur Edward Cartwright
Oriana Ami Sayers
Lillia Bianca Joanna Nuttall
Rosalura Kerry Wotton
Director David Brown
“There are so many longing women, on their knees too,
that pray the dropping down of these good husbands
– the dropping down from heaven; for they are not bred here.”
that pray the dropping down of these good husbands
– the dropping down from heaven; for they are not bred here.”
The White Bear Lost Classics Season has also included:
“Madness In Vanetia” which transferred to the Trafalgar Studios.
“Seconds Maidens Tragedy” which was Time Out Critics Choice
“A Yorkshire Tragedy” – part of Shakespeare’s apocrypha.
“Personal Enemy” - John Osborne's ‘lost’ play which will be transferred to New York end of last year.
Performance Dates:
June 14th to July 3rd
Tuesday – Saturday at 7.30pm, Sundays at 6.00pm
Tickets: £13 (£10 Conc.)
Box Office: 020 7793 9193
White Bear Theatre
138 Kennington Park Road
SE11 4DJ
SPECIAL OFFER
The White Bear Theatre Club is offering 2 for 1 to all Kennington Association members. That’s only £6.50 per ticket!
To book call 020 7793 9193 and quote ‘Kennington Association Offer’.
The White Bear now has it’s own Exclusive Lounge Area where patrons can sit and enjoy a drink and a chat before the show. The theatre itself is fully air conditioned and is now thoroughly soundproofed from the pub.
14 June 2011
KA Newsletter Summer 2011
SUMMER 2011
Dear Neighbours
As usual during the summer months, the KA will appear to be quiet – but behind the scenes we will be busy working on our Annual Charity Auction in September, AGM in October and our November Bazaar! Big thanks especially to Winkworth for stepping forward to underwrite our Auction.
As we move into the autumn, the work and donations of volunteers and local businesses is going to become even more important. In September, we’ll begin to see the full effect of Council funding cuts as well as cuts in government support to families. As I’m sure you’re aware, some of our neighbours are in for difficult times.
And we on the KA Committee would like to hear from you on which direction you think our organisation should head – where you think we should try to step in and make a difference, and where you are prepared to help. Our AGM is planned this year for Monday evening, 10th October at the Durning Library, another stalwart of our community that is itself under threat. We will have a meet-and-greet chance to talk to each other starting at 6:30 and the meeting proper will begin at 7 pm.
Next April, KA will be ten years old! So please come to the AGM and help us set a course of action for the next decade.
Anna Tapsell
NEWS
Kennington Village Fête
The date is set for this year's Fête in Cleaver Square: Sunday, 10th July. We'll have our usual bookstall inviting donations for new but not in perfect condition books contributed by The Kennington Bookshop. All funds raised go to 'Secret Santa' and 'Grey Power'.
Charity Auction
We have a sponsor!!! Huge thanks to Winkworth Estate Agents at Kennington Cross for sponsoring our annual Charity Auction to the tune of £1000!! This year’s Auction is planned to be even more fun than last year!! Brasserie Toulouse–Lautrec on Newington Butts is going to cater for us and we are looking into getting some music as well.
As last year, it will be held at the City & Guilds of London Art School on Kennington Park Road. The Auction date is Thursday, 22nd September at 7pm with a preview the evening before. This year, we are looking for paintings, small sculptures, figurines etc. that will bring in at least £20 each. We also are most anxious to receive vouchers from local businesses for restaurant meals, or food or wine or services – anything from baking a special-occasion cake to cleaning a patio!
We are already taking donations – artworks can be dropped off at the Countryside Alliance, The Old Town Hall, 367 Kennington Road SE11 4PT. Just phone Sarah Lee on 020 7840 9253 before you turn up. Note: It’s essential you fill out a donation form (enclosed) and attach it to the work of art. Vouchers for pledges can be sent to KA at the above address.
Also, we still need a volunteer to coordinate volunteers! This mostly entails phoning around to get people to help out sorting, cleaning and moving items for the Auction. We have a checklist of tasks – you’ll just be asked to match up names with the job! You’ll also be asked to attend a few meetings of the Auction subcommittee to coordinate your activities with the other workers – we have nearly a dozen so far so you’ll meet new people and have fun as well.
March Bazaar Hits New High
Many people must have done their spring cleaning before our March Bazaar because we seemed to have a record number of donations! Books, clothes and bric-a-brac was piled so high our courageous volunteers sometimes felt swamped! We all felt it was well worth the work, however, when we counted the proceeds. After our expenses were deducted and we collected an extra hundred pounds from Chris Carey’s Collections, we raised a clear £815. As reported in our Winter Newsletter, the money will go to fund Tai Chi classes, free to all our community!
Once again, thanks to all our volunteers who collected donations and managed the stalls and the kitchen. Special thanks to Gisella who so brilliantly organized the day and donations. The next Bazaar is scheduled for 26th November, but we are hoping to clear our garage and make space to receive donations by the end of July. So save that winter coat a little longer and you can donate it to the next KA Bazaar!
Traffic Island at Brixton Road/Camberwell New Road
Have you been driven to distraction by the new lane changes between buses and cars at this intersection? KA committee members met at the site, along with Val Shawcross, our representative on the London Assembly. Although Val agreed with some of the problems caused, Transport for London, responsible for all the bus routes and roads they run on, does not seem amenable to making changes, in spite of our strongly worded protest letter. The next move will be for concerned individuals to write to Valerie Shawcross CBE, Member for Lambeth & Southwark, London Assembly, City Hall, The Queen's Walk SE1 2AA or valerie.shawcross@london.gov.
KA will continue to monitor the situation along with the evergreen problems of police and ambulance noise!
Lilian Baylis Old School
The Sports Action Zone has been granted £2 million to upgrade its Old Lilian Baylis building and has formed the Black Prince Trust to lease the land from the Council for this purpose. Good news for our community as the sports facilities, training and skill building SAZ provides to local young people will become ever more important as other locations may be forced to close.
In addition, it’s become clear that a new educational establishment named Michaela Community School in the Lilian Baylis Old School is being proposed by Katharine Birbalsingh, who has featured in the news lately. The school would be one of the proposed ‘free schools’ that the government is encouraging parents to support in lieu of sending their children to a state school. The question for all of us is "what impact will a free school have on local funding of our existing secondary schools and on their makeup?" The KA Committee is going to monitor this proposal and try to learn more that we will pass on to our members.
Committee Matters
We’ve had a few changes to the KA Committee since our last newsletter.
First, we have a new treasurer. Matina Gialama resigned recently because work, home and school commitments made it impossible for her to continue. We are very, very grateful to Lucy Wells for stepping forward to take on this critical role. Lucy moved to Kennington last autumn and decided to get involved in her new community by joining KA. We are delighted to have her on board!
We are also very happy to announce we have a new publicity coordinator, Andrea Steinlechner. She’ll be looking for lots of help in the coming months, so please contact kapublicitycoordinator@gmail.
On the minus side, Dan Love has moved to Cornwall and resigned as corporate liaison. This job involves communicating with our larger corporate neighbours on matters we think affect the quality of life in our community such as noise and traffic. This position remains open. If interested, send a note to KenningtonAssociation@gmail.
Membership Renewals – New Date, 1 October
Up until now, the KA has run a membership year based on when people join. As we’ve grown, this system has made it difficult to monitor membership and send out renewal notices during the proper month. Now we’re changing to make all memberships run from 1st October each year. So if your membership has expired, be sure to get your cheque for £5 in to the above address now! All renewal payments made this summer count as paid up until 1 October 2012. Please write membership on the back of the cheque. If your membership is paid up by 1 October, you will be able to vote on issues raised at our AGM.
UPDATES
Tai Chi
Our Tai Chi classes are thriving and making good use of our dry, sunny weather to meet in Kennington Park. And we had some good news on the funding front – a successful bid by Jide Ashimi of Leo Vocational Service resulted in a grant of £750 from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. This funded our instructor for 15 sessions. But money is still a major problem and likely to continue as funds for community programmes get tighter. In spite of the tremendous work done by Christine Eames-Jones in filling out long, detailed applications for grants, we still have no new long-term sponsor. Because these classes bring together so many people of different ages and backgrounds in our community, the KA is stepping in to make sure these classes can meet while we continue to pursue new sources of funding. Please feel free to join us on Thursdays at 2pm and Saturdays at 11am in Kennington Park near the Cafe. Beginners are always welcome. There’s nothing strenuous about Tai Chi, but people of all ages who attend are amazed at the strength they build up over the weeks and months.
For children, the introduction to Tai Chi is through Karate and last summer KA sponsored six weeks of Karate classes for kids at Lollard Street Adventure Playground. We plan to do the same this summer and use volunteers from the Tai Chi classes to come along and help the instructor, Michael Jacques, so more children have individual attention.
Friends of Lollard Street Adventure Playground
At the February meeting of Lambeth Council, over 200 people demonstrated to protest cuts, including children who spoke at the meeting to say how important the borough’s Adventure Playgrounds are to them. Unfortunately, in spite of these protests, Lambeth Council is continuing to move ahead with plans to get rid of any responsibility for running or funding playgrounds. All playgrounds are to be turned over to a co–operative council – yet to be formed – which will take over the responsibility the Council is abdicating. A private organization called the Lambeth Play Association will try to raise money from somewhere to run all adventure playgrounds on a very limited basis. As it stands, all Adventure Playgrounds in the borough will be open during the summer, but will be cut back to one day a week beginning in September. Once again, thanks to Chris Eames-Jones who has been leading FOLSAP in its fight to keep the Playground open.
Planning
The views of the KA Planning Forum under the chairmanship of David Boardman (see http://kaplanning.blogspot.com
A councillor told Kennington Oval Vauxhall Forum in April that the Council had found KAPF's representation on the infrastructure study for Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) very useful.
Victory at Bondway: KAPF, with others, made strong representations at the Planning Enquiry into the proposed high-rise development on Bondway in Vauxhall. The developer lost, then appealed, but was refused.
Sainsbury’s requested two meetings with KAPF to present their proposals for developing the site of their existing Nine Elms store on Wandsworth Road.
KAPF is also continuing to monitor proposed local developments including the planned extension to the Northern Line and to voice local needs and concerns with councillors and council officers. Local community groups continue to approach KAPF for advice.
Big thanks to all our volunteers, anonymous donors and the following organisations for all their help and support:
· City & Guilds of London Art School
· The Kennington Bookshop
EVENTS FOR YOUR CALENDAR
10 July
22 September KA Annual Charity Auction, City & Guilds of London Art School
10 October
26 November KA Bazaar, St Anselm’s Church Hall, Kennington Cross
REMEMBER THE KA WEBSITE: http://sites.google.com/site/
13 June 2011
11 June 2011
09 June 2011
‘We don’t need new school to open here’
News
‘We don’t need new school to open here’
Friday, 03 June 2011
Katherine Birbalsingh wants to turn the site into a free school
A FREE school proposed by a controversial teacher would not help solve a borough’s classroom space shortage, it has been claimed.
Zoom In and Shantala Fels cordially invite you to the Private View on Thursday 23rd June 2011
| |
| There is only the truth within each moment by Shantala Fels Zoom In Photography invites you to a Private View on Thursday 23rd of June 2011 6pm to 9pm © Shantala Fels 2010 Zoom In Photography continues its exciting exhibition programme for 2011 with German photographer Shantala Fels. With this series, Shantala explores her Indian roots and tries to find out how they affect her identity. In 2010, she stayed with her family in Delhi and explored the city and its everyday-life with her twin-lens reflex camera. In-motion blur and angular points of view underline the momentary nature of her photographs and emphasise her personal observations. This series show single moments that controvert each other, change constantly and are always new - like identity and life itself. "I came to India to explore what my father’s native country means to me. Sometimes I felt that I belong to India and sometimes I felt like a stranger. After some time I became aware that ‘the agony and the beauty of living in India is just this, that one is challenged every day to look at life not in absolutes but in relatives.’ I discovered that there is only the truth within each moment. This is my truth about India." Exhibition runs from: Friday 24th of June – Thursday 4th of August 2011 Opening Hours: Mon - Sat: 10am to 6pm Late night Tuesdays until 9pm Sun by appointment only Shantala is a photographer from Hanover, Germany with a background in Communication Design. This year she is graduating from Goldsmiths University of London where she undertakes an MA in Photography and Urban Cultures. Based on her interest in questions of identity and sociological theories, her past works include Freudenhaus, a social documentary series about the life of a brothel in Germany and Guest a series about living and dying in a hospice. Not just the photographs, but also their presentation is an important part of her work and is designed to open up space for the interpretations and associations of the viewer. Shantala has been widely exhibited and published in Germany; this is her first solo exhibition in the UK. For further information on Shantala’s work, please visit: http://www.shantala-fels.de Hope to see you there! |
| Zoom In Limited 301 Lincoln House 1-3 Brixton Road London SW9 6DE "Zoom In exists to promote and celebrate individuals in the attainment of their independent goals and aspirations through the philosophy of creativity, inspiration, education, encouragement and support." Tel: 020 7735 5061 Email: photography@zoom-in.org www.zoom-in.org |
08 June 2011
Harleyford Rd Garden Open Day: Sunday 12th June
Open Garden Squares Weekend
Harleyford Road Community Garden
Open:
Sunday 14:00–17:00
Description:
In 1984 local residents started to grow vegetables on a 1.5-acre plot of wasteland, beginning the present community garden.
Apart from a few existing trees,
the whole garden has been created and maintained by residents.
The garden is divided into several areas
including a wildlife area, pond and a playground.
Recent enhancements include
a mosaic wall, extended mosaic paths and new benches.
Apart from a few existing trees,
the whole garden has been created and maintained by residents.
The garden is divided into several areas
including a wildlife area, pond and a playground.
Recent enhancements include
a mosaic wall, extended mosaic paths and new benches.
Activities:
Tea and cakes. Music. Book and plant stalls
2.00pm - 5.00pm
2.00pm - 5.00pm
Entrance:
From 37 Bonnington Square or Harleyford Road
Nearest postcode: SW8 1TF
Nearest postcode: SW8 1TF
All welcome.
07 June 2011
06 June 2011
02 June 2011
In England, a Former Factory to Call Home
In England, a Former Factory to Call Home
By ROCKY CASALE
LONDON — Four years ago, Eric Guibert, an architect, and his fiancé, Robin Pembrooke, an online television executive, were growing tired of their two-bedroom home in Waterloo, a bustling South London neighborhood. Mr. Guibert, whose specialty is developing unconventional properties like reclaimed churches and barns, took issue with many of its features.
“The rooms were small, the ceilings low, and there were too many walls,” said Mr. Guibert, 38, the owner of Sens Architecture. “Robin and I needed to be challenged, and it had to be something with tremendous potential and a lot of space.”
Mr. Guibert and Mr. Pembrooke, 41, the managing director of ITV.com, had first set their sights on buying property in the Loire Valley of France, but when the couple’s plans were waylaid by legal snags, they resolved to take on a local project.
In 2007, the couple sold their home to buy a 6,000-square-foot former factory building in nearby Kennington, a leafy city neighborhood where warehouses and old factories are mixed in with Georgian and Victorian terraced homes that sit along wide avenues shaded by tall plane trees. The four-story, red-brick building, with two bedrooms and three baths, was bought for £1.1 million, then about $2.2 million.
The late-19th-century building had played surrogate to a random list of commercial pursuits, most notably in 1865 when it was a rocking-horse factory. It was later a furniture manufacturing business, and office space. The word AIRCON is emblazoned in fading black letters on the roof from its days as an air-conditioning assembly plant.
The building was just the sort of project that Mr. Guibert was eager to take on. “The spaces here are so large, open and long that we can be in the same room and still feel like we have our own personal freedom,” he said.
Today, the property’s industrial past is still evident in the long rows of water pipes that line the high ceilings and walls throughout the building. The previous tenant had already made the upstairs industrial spaces into living and office areas. With most of the heavy-lifting done, the couple spent most of 2008 completing minor cosmetic work, mostly painting, on the second, third, and fourth floors at a cost of £25,000, then $49,500.
The biggest challenge Mr. Guibert and Mr. Pembrooke faced was learning how to use the enormous industrial spaces, which include a 2,700-square-foot garage on the first floor that is used now to store furniture awaiting restoration, cars and occasionally guests when they host big parties.
“This is not a standard house,” Mr. Guibert said. “When we first moved in it was incredibly taxing to have to run up and down the stairs each time I wanted a cup of tea. I hardly venture to the fourth floor, and certain rooms are freezing in the winter. You just have to learn how to use space wisely in unconventional buildings like ours.”
Mr. Guibert keeps his 443-square-foot office on the second floor. He works alone there, surrounded by design books crammed on the bookshelves. Files and schematics are stored neatly in antique filing cabinets. Separating Mr. Guibert’s sparsely decorated office and the master bedroom is an aubergine-colored bathroom. It features a claw-foot cast iron tub that came with the house and a charcoal drawing of hundreds of small faces by Yvonne Kyriakides, which Mr. Pembrooke bought at the Royal Academy’s summer show in 1999 to brighten the room.
In the 858 square-foot master bedroom, a gray area rug by the Dutch carpet maker Van Besouw that has followed the couple with each move is spread over the chipped cement floor. The south-facing wall is banked by original single pane metal casement Crittall windows that allow light to stream across onto the couple’s king-size bed. Mr. Guibert has adorned the window ledges with pottery that he collects at flea markets and charity shops. A long narrow staircase leads to the third level, and a combined dining and living area as well as the kitchen. It is the warmest floor in the house. Long and rectangular, the room has original pine flooring and is painted the color of light gray linen. It’s also where the couple spends most of their time cooking, reading and entertaining guests. But even in the summer there is a chill in the 840-square-foot room. Mr. Guibert said he wears three sweaters indoors during the winter.
“Living here taught us that you really don’t need a lot of heat, and in a way it’s really nice to always be wrapped up or sharing a blanket with someone,” he said.
The dining area at one end of the room is dominated by a white elliptical table by Fritz Hansen and chairs by Vico Magistretti Maui that were bought as a set for $2,790 at a now-defunct London design store. Mr. Guibert made the center of this floor into a living area that he furnished with big brown leather couches from Ikea. Flanking the wall is a shelving unit by the Swedish architect Nils Strinning, a mid-century design that seems to hang from strings, which was bought online for $370. Mr. Guibert also displays his collection of ink bottles there, as well as a bust of Louis XVI, a gift from Mr. Pembrooke’s father. The kitchen is on the opposite side of the room, and features a large granite and wood-topped island, in addition to rows of stainless-steel industrial shelves, bought at kitchen surplus yard.
French metal casement doors in the kitchen lead to a 735-square-foot pebbled garden on the second-floor landing. The rooftop garden was the creation of the previous owner, along with a rustic two-story 390-square-foot guesthouse at the end of the garden.
The A-framed fourth floor is Mr. Pembrooke’s lair. His office is there, as well as a second living room. The walls are decorated with Mr. Pembrooke’s extensive collection of 18th- and 19th-century maps and engravings of Kennington. Mr. Guibert said he sometimes reads there in a white Avarte Skaala lounge chair by Yrjö Kukkapuro that the couple bought at an auction for $2,790, but he prefers the floors below.
“Just thinking of all the stair you have to climb to get here, I am sometimes relieved that my office is on the second floor,” he said.
“The rooms were small, the ceilings low, and there were too many walls,” said Mr. Guibert, 38, the owner of Sens Architecture. “Robin and I needed to be challenged, and it had to be something with tremendous potential and a lot of space.”
Mr. Guibert and Mr. Pembrooke, 41, the managing director of ITV.com, had first set their sights on buying property in the Loire Valley of France, but when the couple’s plans were waylaid by legal snags, they resolved to take on a local project.
In 2007, the couple sold their home to buy a 6,000-square-foot former factory building in nearby Kennington, a leafy city neighborhood where warehouses and old factories are mixed in with Georgian and Victorian terraced homes that sit along wide avenues shaded by tall plane trees. The four-story, red-brick building, with two bedrooms and three baths, was bought for £1.1 million, then about $2.2 million.
The late-19th-century building had played surrogate to a random list of commercial pursuits, most notably in 1865 when it was a rocking-horse factory. It was later a furniture manufacturing business, and office space. The word AIRCON is emblazoned in fading black letters on the roof from its days as an air-conditioning assembly plant.
The building was just the sort of project that Mr. Guibert was eager to take on. “The spaces here are so large, open and long that we can be in the same room and still feel like we have our own personal freedom,” he said.
Today, the property’s industrial past is still evident in the long rows of water pipes that line the high ceilings and walls throughout the building. The previous tenant had already made the upstairs industrial spaces into living and office areas. With most of the heavy-lifting done, the couple spent most of 2008 completing minor cosmetic work, mostly painting, on the second, third, and fourth floors at a cost of £25,000, then $49,500.
The biggest challenge Mr. Guibert and Mr. Pembrooke faced was learning how to use the enormous industrial spaces, which include a 2,700-square-foot garage on the first floor that is used now to store furniture awaiting restoration, cars and occasionally guests when they host big parties.
“This is not a standard house,” Mr. Guibert said. “When we first moved in it was incredibly taxing to have to run up and down the stairs each time I wanted a cup of tea. I hardly venture to the fourth floor, and certain rooms are freezing in the winter. You just have to learn how to use space wisely in unconventional buildings like ours.”
Mr. Guibert keeps his 443-square-foot office on the second floor. He works alone there, surrounded by design books crammed on the bookshelves. Files and schematics are stored neatly in antique filing cabinets. Separating Mr. Guibert’s sparsely decorated office and the master bedroom is an aubergine-colored bathroom. It features a claw-foot cast iron tub that came with the house and a charcoal drawing of hundreds of small faces by Yvonne Kyriakides, which Mr. Pembrooke bought at the Royal Academy’s summer show in 1999 to brighten the room.
In the 858 square-foot master bedroom, a gray area rug by the Dutch carpet maker Van Besouw that has followed the couple with each move is spread over the chipped cement floor. The south-facing wall is banked by original single pane metal casement Crittall windows that allow light to stream across onto the couple’s king-size bed. Mr. Guibert has adorned the window ledges with pottery that he collects at flea markets and charity shops. A long narrow staircase leads to the third level, and a combined dining and living area as well as the kitchen. It is the warmest floor in the house. Long and rectangular, the room has original pine flooring and is painted the color of light gray linen. It’s also where the couple spends most of their time cooking, reading and entertaining guests. But even in the summer there is a chill in the 840-square-foot room. Mr. Guibert said he wears three sweaters indoors during the winter.
“Living here taught us that you really don’t need a lot of heat, and in a way it’s really nice to always be wrapped up or sharing a blanket with someone,” he said.
The dining area at one end of the room is dominated by a white elliptical table by Fritz Hansen and chairs by Vico Magistretti Maui that were bought as a set for $2,790 at a now-defunct London design store. Mr. Guibert made the center of this floor into a living area that he furnished with big brown leather couches from Ikea. Flanking the wall is a shelving unit by the Swedish architect Nils Strinning, a mid-century design that seems to hang from strings, which was bought online for $370. Mr. Guibert also displays his collection of ink bottles there, as well as a bust of Louis XVI, a gift from Mr. Pembrooke’s father. The kitchen is on the opposite side of the room, and features a large granite and wood-topped island, in addition to rows of stainless-steel industrial shelves, bought at kitchen surplus yard.
French metal casement doors in the kitchen lead to a 735-square-foot pebbled garden on the second-floor landing. The rooftop garden was the creation of the previous owner, along with a rustic two-story 390-square-foot guesthouse at the end of the garden.
The A-framed fourth floor is Mr. Pembrooke’s lair. His office is there, as well as a second living room. The walls are decorated with Mr. Pembrooke’s extensive collection of 18th- and 19th-century maps and engravings of Kennington. Mr. Guibert said he sometimes reads there in a white Avarte Skaala lounge chair by Yrjö Kukkapuro that the couple bought at an auction for $2,790, but he prefers the floors below.
“Just thinking of all the stair you have to climb to get here, I am sometimes relieved that my office is on the second floor,” he said.
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