Voysey House | dMFK Architects

dMFK Architects and Dorrington PLC have completed the restoration of the iconic former Sanderson wallpaper factory in Chiswick. Originally constructed in 1902, the Grade II* Listed, Voysey House is the only commercial building designed by celebrated architect CFA Voysey. The five-storey structure was converted into offices following a fire in 1928 and faced piecemeal refurbishments over the years that diluted its identity. Nearly a century after leaving, Voysey House’s original commissioners are now set to return as occupiers.

Dorrington purchased Voysey House in 2020 with an aspiration to provide the ailing Arts and Crafts building with a new lease of life. Drawing from their extensive experience creatively repositioning, refurbishing and developing properties across London, Dorrington partnered with longtime collaborators dMFK to revive the purpose-built factory’s abundant character, transform its interiors into premium workspace and vastly reduce the building’s carbon emissions. 

Following a considered consultation process with Historic England and Hounslow Council, the project team secured permission to replace Voysey House’s non-original existing windows with ultra-thin 7.7mm double glazing set within steel reproductions of the original frames. In addition to restoring CFA Voysey’s original design intent, this has reduced the building’s U Value by over 50% and enabled the historic structure to achieve an EPC rating of A.

Previous interventions to the ground floor had introduced a garage, entrance lobby and raised working deck, resulting in a disjointed street presence and fragmented floorplate. The revised design has transformed this into a permeable triple-aspect space with floor to ceiling heights of 4.09m, that is seamlessly integrated with its surroundings and welcomes passersby into Sanderson’s shopfront. 

Restoring the façade to its former glory involved the meticulous replacement and repair of the building’s striking original white glazed bricks, painted Staffordshire blue bricks and Portland stone dressing. Internally, high-quality finishes have been carefully curated to reference the exterior, with Staffordshire blue quarry tiles cladding the reception floor and wrapping up the main staircase.

New doors and joinery reference CFA Voysey’s original detailing and provide tactility to areas that had lost their original fixtures. On the non-original upper floors, oxidised copper cladding has been incorporated within the internal lightwell amenity terraces, paired with “Voysey bottle green” architectural metalwork and window frames. This colour was selected to pay homage to Voysey House’s storied past, after being identified as the original choice through detailed paintwork analysis.

The retained top-floor structure traces the distinctive line of the original curved Portland stone parapet, with an undulating soffit punctuated by generous new frameless rooflights that flood the vaulted space with daylight. 

Voysey House’s original occupants, now known as Sanderson Design Group, left the premises following a fire in the neighbouring building in 1928. In 2024, its story has come full circle – Sanderson Design Group will be moving back in, with the carefully restored Arts and Crafts structure accommodating its wallpaper showroom on the ground floor, a historic archive on the porthole-lit third storey and best-in-class office space on the first, second and fourth floors.

Lead Architects: Julian de Metz, Ben Knight, Paul Forbes, Jonny Wong, Joshua Scott

Structural engineer: Heyne Tillet Steel

M&E consultant: DSA Engineering

QS: CHP

Landscape consultant: N/A

Acoustic consultant: RSK Acoustics

Project manager: Pillar

Principal designer: SWECO

CDM co-ordinator: SWECO

Approved building inspector: SWECO

Main contractor: Ambit

Occupier: Sanderson Design Group

Heritage Advisors: Turley

Planning Advisors: Turley

Fire Engineer: Trigon Fire

Steel Windows Specialist: West Leigh

Brick Specialist: Paye

Photography: Jack Hobhouse