dMFK Architects completes the revitalised Voysey House in Chiswick

When I met Mathilda Lewis and Joshua Scott of dMFK Architects at the Grade II listed Voysey House in Chiswick, it was also the first time they had seen the finished interior. It was followed by stressful flashbacks to Changing Rooms episodes from the 90s, when the contestants had their blindfolds removed and hated the curtains. Thankfully there is no risk of that happening here – the tenant is Sanderson Design Group.

Built in 1902, Voysey House is the only commercial building designed by CFA Voysey. With its distinctive scalloped parapet and Arts and Crafts style facade, it is a prominent and valued landmark in the area. Originally an extension to the Sanderson wallpaper factory, it was tailored to the dimensions of the wallpaper machines inside. These presses were located on two floors, while a shed roof with northern lights illuminated the design studio.

When the main factory was destroyed by fire in 1928, the company moved away, but Voysey House next door remained intact and was put to other uses. When it was acquired in 2020 by developer Dorrington (whose own headquarters are in a townhouse in Voysey), it housed offices, a garage and even an architect’s home: in the 1980s, architect Charles Lawrence, chairman of the Voysey Society, converted the top two floors into his family home. Rabbits roamed the roof. “It’s definitely had a nice life,” says Scott. “But we wanted it to be a better version of itself.”

Dorrington was determined to transform the building into elegant, functional office space and dMFK has a long track record of sensitive refurbishment. Lawrence, who had created an archive of the building’s history, generously shared his knowledge and helped Lewis carefully uncover each historical layer of the building.

Shortly after construction began on site, Sanderson re-entered the scene and became a tenant, bringing the building’s story full circle through his contribution to the designs.

The first layer to be removed was the facade. Restoring the original glazed brickwork, which was “breaking and cracking”, made the repair work seem “like a game of Jenga”, says Lewis. Shot blasting revealed an original brick that had been coloured blue. This inspired the choice of blue Ketley Staffordshire brick in the internal stairwell, paired with durable brass inlays, and on the top floor terrace with the use of KME Tecu Cassette Cladding, whose copper oxide patinas over time.

dMFK also negotiated with Historic England and Hounslow Council to upgrade the windows and secured approval to use ultra-thin 7.7mm Fineo vacuum double glazing from West Leigh with steel frames, reproducing the original profiles in a colour-matched ‘Voysey bottle green’. This result reduced the building’s U-value by over 50%, contributing to an EPC rating of A.

Due to its manufacturing intent, the building was built a little like a fortress, with the ground floor windows above head height. At some point during its history, a raised floor was added. This has been removed and replaced with a durable larch mosaic floor. The space is now an exhibition space. The high-set windows are no longer a problem, as the section of wall below is just the right height to hang fabric samples.

A clamping system has been discreetly incorporated into the original steel beams, allowing Sanderson to display entire lengths of wallpaper on movable dividers, useful for dividing the large open space. Several pieces of old wallpapering machinery and associated tools now remain as attractive artifacts in the space they once occupied.

“Because we didn’t have this huge interior fit-out before Sanderson moved in, we took every opportunity to incorporate something crafty or our version of what Voysey might have done,” explains Scott. This is most noticeable in the joinery, for example in the lifts, and in the sturdy entrance doors. The arch of the entrance is original, but in the converted building an angled weather lobby with a metal door above was added. This had to go. “We looked closely at Voysey’s joinery and the interior panelling of some of his residential projects and developed our own language,” explains Scott.

Upstairs, further stripping revealed the original pitch pine floor, complete with ink stains from the printing process. Retaining these signs of wear helped the architect to see things less delicately: “You don’t have to look after the building,” notes Scott. Unusually for London, this floor is four-sided and is now a design studio for teams from Harlequin, Zoffany, Morris & Co and other brands under the Sanderson umbrella.

As for the top two floors, where the apartments were, “we decided to lean into their presence,” says Scott. The undulating roof, which the architect was initially skeptical about, soon appealed to him and agreed that it gave character to the top office space. Lawrence had designed it to follow the lines of the parapet for good reason: “Any other way you drew it made it a worse space,” Scott admits. “Keeping it tight to the parapet makes the space seem generous; once you flatten it out, you get a low ceiling and now I think it’s a really nice office floor,” he admits.

“We remedied the sloped lightwell to better align with Voysey’s intent,” Lewis continues. There is now a courtyard on the third floor, overlooked by an accessible terrace on the level above.

The rhythm of the arched glass doors “reflects what is happening on the other floors,” and these spaces have been readily embraced by Sanderson employees who enjoy the outdoor space.

Thanks to the building’s manufacturing history and robust structure, it was in the unusual position of being able to house Sanderson’s 12-tonne archive on the third floor. This collection of 75,000 documents, textile samples, wallpaper and artwork was brought in by crane via the lightwell. “And we only broke one tile in the process,” says archivist Caitlin Stracey.

For Sanderson, the move was an “exciting” opportunity to showcase and use its own materials indoors. Bright floral patterns adorn the walls and ceilings of the bathrooms and vestibules, as well as the two meeting rooms. “Of course the architects painted everything white – it gives it more life,” jokes Lewis. “We realise how boring we are. Maybe we need to add more colour to our designs.” “We can help!” replies Sanderson’s CEO Lisa Montague immediately.

“It was a very interesting project because of the stories,” Lewis concludes. “It was a labor of love for everyone involved.” The team can be justifiably proud of having created a cohesive and exciting space from so many different contributions. As Scott says, “Sometimes the building does the design for you.”