Richard Rogers House in Wimbledon | Gumuchdjian Architects

Wimbledon / United Kingdom

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The breath-taking single-storey home, designed in the 1960s by Richard Rogers, has been recently restored by Gumuchdjian Architects and is now a most fitting environment for the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) fellowship residents as well as a relaxed, spacious setting for on-going events and seminars. Standout features of the renovated Wimbledon House include two wetrooms within the lodge, fully clad in HI-MACS® surfaces.


22 Parkside or Rogers House as it’s also known, was a blueprint for industrialised housing and a radical departure from more common building methods of the time. It follows a modular format that would allow for the renewal of technology and developing needs over time made possible by the long-life steel portal frame structure, giving the house its iconic appearance. The property is characterised by the then-radical use of fully glazed facades to create a contemporary composition of courtyards, gardens and linked interior space.


Gifted to the University by Lord Rogers and Ruth Rogers, the importance of this building is marked by its Grade 2* heritage listing status, and it beautifully demonstrates the architect’s interest of urbanism within architecture.


Oozing modernist industrial design, Richard Rogers’ single-storey sixties house is the new HQ for The Harvard GSD’s Richard Rogers fellowship programme. Academic Fellows who are taking part in the three-month residency for the research of alternative and sustainable urban futures will enjoy the relaxed, open atmosphere of 22 Parkside. The bright, open-plan setting can also be used for seminars and events run by the University.


Gumuchdjian Architects, whose founder Philip Gumuchdjian worked alongside the Richard Rogers Partnership for 18 years before setting up his own practice, led the recent renovation. The ethos was to maintain the design’s character rather than the fabric of the building itself.


“Gumuchdjian Architects’ proposition to Harvard GSD was to return the house to its original condition, albeit modified to their specific needs,” explains Philip Gumuchdjian. “As ever, the success of the project was entirely supported by the vision and sensitivity of the client. Our seemingly simple proposition, tempered by the wish to exploit the advantages of modern materials, resulted in the replacement of the entire roof and all of its asbestos-filled external walls, the demolition of recently added buildings, the removal of new internal partitions, the replacement of its servicing system, the refurbishment and redecoration of the joinery and the reconstruction of the garden in its entirety”.


Interior style


The renovated Wimbledon House include two wetrooms within the lodge, fully clad in        HI-MACS® surfaces. Fresh, clean and contemporary, these showering spaces offer practicality combined with a sleek, seamless finish perfect for modern living. Strong, hardwearing and aesthetically appealing, HI-MACS® is solid throughout. Virtually scratchproof, it is also non-porous, making it easy to clean and resistant to stains, moisture and sunlight – the ultimate choice for the legacy of modern design.


“At 22 Parkside, we required a complete wet room solution for the new en-suite shower rooms in the ‘lodge’ building. The solution had to be of high quality and aesthetically pure, while being equally robust in use to complement the original 1968 design. The result is an apparently seamless custom-made wet room material, lining the shower room walls and floors” -  Michael Ramwell, Project Architect for Gumuchdjian Architects. 

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    The breath-taking single-storey home, designed in the 1960s by Richard Rogers, has been recently restored by Gumuchdjian Architects and is now a most fitting environment for the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (Harvard GSD) fellowship residents as well as a relaxed, spacious setting for on-going events and seminars. Standout features of the renovated Wimbledon House include two wetrooms within the lodge, fully clad in HI-MACS® surfaces. 22 Parkside or Rogers House as...

    Project details
    • Status Completed works
    • Type Single-family residence / Recovery/Restoration of Historic Buildings
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