Apartment in Bow | Vivian Chan

Bow Quarters is a beautiful seven-acre Grade-II listed residential development set within a historic site of the converted Bryant and May matchbox factory. The site is separated from the Olympic Park by the Blackwall Tunnel. The proposal required ingenious almost ‘Rubik-cube like’ solutions to meet the ambitious programmatic brief of the client to convert a mezzanine apartment to a two-bedroom apartment whilst responding to the challenging structural constraints. Studio Verve arrived at a design solution that provided a dramatic sequence of spatial experience within the walls and high industrial windows of the original factory whilst meeting the requirements of the client’s brief. The entire interiors including the existing mezzanine structure was completely gutted; and reinserted with a new mezzanine structure to take advantage of the high volume industrial space. A feature Ipe timber fin wall bisects the volume; with an Oak stairs leading one up to the mezzanine bedroom with a frameless glass balustrade overlooking the dramatic double-height lounge and dining space below. A concealed door is created within the fin wall that leads into the ground floor bedroom, bathroom and media/storage utility. A full-height bookshelf separates the cloak cabinet space and kitchen from the main lounge looking onto the original high industrial window. The linearity of the timber fins contrast well against the exposed brick walls of the original factory and the new oak flooring. Feature micro-mosaic tiling is consistently used as both the backsplash to a lava black kitchen and bespoke wash hand basin counter and bath. All the joinery was bespoke-designed to accommodate as much storage within the overall volume whilst providing a calm well-detailed scheme.