Watson's St Chapel is a studio, gallery, and home in south London, for an artist and her family.
Formerly a Victorian chapel the building has been given new life and purpose after having fallen into disrepair following years of disuse. Nikjoo was tasked with breathing life back into the historic structure, transforming it into an adaptable, contemporary living and work space, that allows for flexibility of use and function for the creative client.
Stripped back to it original form, Nikjoo sought to reveal features and details that had been covered through years of piecemeal extensions and additions. Restored using a palette of rich yet simple materials, the new interventions interweave with the existing fabric of the building.
The plan takes inspiration from the original chapel layout. The nave contains the living and studio space, its height and scale left intentionally open to allow for adaption and personalisation throughout the lifetime of the building. The rear of the chapel has been entirely rebuilt in what was the vestry, to provide three new bedrooms and other facilities.
The key intervention is the insertion of a cantilevered mezzanine structure within the main space; imagined as a contemporary pulpit, it serves as the nucleus of the building. Built entirely of wood, it contains the kitchen and plant services at ground level, and provides a workspace with access to a new roof terrace above, creating a space to fosters the owner's life and work.