This refurbishment of a maisonette in Trevelyan House was the private residence of Ewald van der Straeten, co-founder of Bradley Van Der Straeten Architects. Completed over a decade ago, it represents an early residential project by the studio and is revisited here as part of our archive.

Trevelyan House is a Grade II-listed residential block in Bethnal Green, completed in 1958 to designs by Denys Lasdun. Conceived as a progressive model for post-war housing, the building is organised around a central core with a distinctive butterfly plan, allowing each of the 24 maisonettes to receive generous daylight from multiple aspects. The architecture sits confidently within the surrounding Victorian terraces while offering light, views and outdoor space that many London homes still struggle to achieve.

The project involved the complete reworking of a tired ex-council flat whose interiors had gradually lost clarity over time. Original metal windows had been replaced with bulky uPVC units, services were surface-mounted, and the plan had been subdivided into a series of small, inefficient rooms. As a listed building, all interventions required close dialogue with planners and conservation officers, with a clear emphasis on reversibility and respect for Lasdun’s original intent.

The central move was the removal of the existing kitchen and living room arrangement and the insertion of a freestanding kitchen ‘cube’ within a newly opened living space. Rather than fixing the kitchen to the perimeter walls, the cube was conceived as an object placed within the room, creating a more flexible and generous plan while maintaining the legibility of the original structure. Importantly, the intervention was designed to feel almost temporary, as if it could be lifted out without harm to the host building.

The kitchen cube is lined internally with Plyboo, a bamboo-based plywood chosen for its durability, warm colour and acoustic qualities. The same material is used for cabinetry and flooring, reinforcing the sense of the cube as a cohesive internal volume. A bespoke steel worktop and sink were fabricated to fit precisely within the space, while a slightly lowered ceiling zone conceals services and extract, allowing the surrounding living area to retain its full height.

Externally, the cube is wrapped in dark grey MDF, providing a calm, robust contrast to the lighter interior and helping the element read as a single architectural object. Perforated panels conceal vertical radiators, and a large opening connects the kitchen visually to the living space, creating a sociable, almost theatrical relationship between cooking, dining and sitting.

Elsewhere in the flat, the approach was pragmatic and restrained. Services were rationalised and concealed, switch plates were recessed, and bespoke storage was introduced to maximise usable space. Bathrooms were refurbished using simple, durable materials including grey slate, glass and white fittings, while colour was introduced selectively to give character without overwhelming the architecture. Throughout, the focus was on longevity, build quality and the everyday experience of living in the space.

This project reflects an early exploration of themes that continue to underpin our work today: careful engagement with existing buildings, clarity of spatial ideas, and the use of well-considered interventions to unlock light, flexibility and long-term value. Viewed in hindsight, Trevelyan House remains a formative example of how modest, precise architectural moves can radically transform the experience of a home, even within tight constraints.

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George’s House

See how our other co-founder reworked his own home in Stoke Newington.

A playful, two-stage transformation of a modest 1980s house on a low-density green estate, reimagined as a family home through careful edits, lived-in experimentation and long-term thinking.

Read more by clicking here.