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Leaf House

Despite its location in London, the design and build of Leaf House offered an unusual degree of freedom. The fact that it was not within a conservation area, and replaced a building of little merit, with neighbours of mixed character allowed significant latitude around creative solutions to the brief.

Leaf house has a dignified quality. Its pale and spectral tonal language gives it an intellectual austerity which is interspersed with elements of family life. It serves as both a home and a workspace and in that sense, reflects the increasing influence of the internet on the planning of private houses.

It takes its place unapologetically among its neighbours with no need for contextual deference. It’s only connection to historic urban architecture is its sobriety, it shares the austere restraint of some period terraced housing.

“Always a pleasure to deal with, paying the highest attention to detail on every issue of our house – from aesthetic details to getting the behind-the-scenes mechanics right. The result is that we have a home which we and our children delight in on a daily basis. We cannot recommend them highly enough.”

Alain de Botton, Client
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James Gorst’s work has helped to heal one of the most unnecessary and painful wounds in contemporary British architecture: between the traditionalists and the modernists. Like Louis Kahn in the United States or Peter Zumthor in Switzerland, Gorst reminds us that modernism can be beautifully reconciled with the underlying principles of classicism and that modern materials and idioms can carry all the elegance, dignity and grandeur associated with historical masterpieces.

Alain de Botton

© 2025 James Gorst Architects. All rights reserved.

Design: Tom Green Design. Build: Designagogo.