Bird in Hand / Patalab Architecture

Architecture often begins with understanding and embracing the constraints of a particular brief and site. This proved especially true for the reconfiguration and extension of an existing building in Hampstead, where - given its prominent yet nestled position between Hampstead High Street and Bird in Hand Yard - space was considerably confined. The Bird in Hand, once a local watering hole of Hampstead until it changed hands to The Dome cafe in the early ’80s and later Cafe Rouge, is a five-story Victorian structure, which included two cramped flats to the upper floors, accessed via an external escape stair to the rear. It has been refurbished and extended to create two two-bedroom flats to the upper floors, offices to the first floor, and flexible retail/restaurant spaces to the ground and basement floors.