Coming of Age

Hauer King House, Islington

Architect: Future Systems

This wedge-shaped private house, squeezed into a 20ft gap between a 1860s pub and a late-Georgian terrace, was one of the first built-projects by Future Systems – a unique practice whose output embodied the optimism and fun of the 1990s perhaps more than any other. Its façade composed entirely of glass bricks is lovingly indebted to Pierre Chareau’s Maison de Verre in Paris, while the sinuous metal entrance bridge that curved to avoid a mature protected tree, demonstrated a playful yet deferential approach to building uncompromisingly modern architecture in a Conservation Area. Alas the tree is sadly no longer with us, robbing the frontage of some of its sylvan shading.

Coming of Age

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