Chiswick House Café
London, United Kingdom 2006–2010
Client: English Heritage Grade I listed setting RIBA London Building of the Year
Caruso St John was commissioned by Historic England (formerly English Heritage) to design a new café building within the historic gardens of Chiswick House in West London. The new café was part of a wider masterplan for the regeneration of the whole of Chiswick Gardens, a site of international importance, both as the location of great innovations in English landscape design and as the setting for one of the most beautiful houses in London.
The masterplan involved the restoration of the historic landscape and garden buildings, and the addition of new facilities including the café, so that the operation of the garden could be brought into a sustainable balance and its condition could be permanently maintained. The new café building is located close to Chiswick House on the east side, where stable buildings once stood. The project involved both the building and its garden setting. The L-shaped plan of the building frames the corner of an open lawn on the south side, connecting the café site visually to the house and the surrounding historic gardens.
The cafe has a stone colonnade across its main elevations, terminating in a portico-like front. Its elevation recalls the arcaded façades of the stable wings of country villas in the Veneto, such as Palladio’s Villa Angarano, and through these references makes a strong spatial link back to the main house. The colonnade provides a space for covered exterior seating around the main room of the cafe, from where visitors have a panoramic view south of the surrounding lawns and mature trees.






Drawings

Site plan

Floor plan

Sections

East elevation

West elevation

Reflected ceiling plan

External loggia wall detail

External entrance wall detail
Chiswick House & Gardens



Related news
Chiswick House Cafe has won a RIBA London Award, the RIBA English Heritage Award for Sustaining the HIstoric Environment and the RIBA London Building of the Year Award.
Award
Civic Trust Awards
Chiswick House Cafe has won a Civic Trust Award.
Chiswick House Cafe is a finalist in the 2011 Civic Trust Awards. The winners will be announced on 4th March.
Nomination
2011 Mies van der Rohe Award
Nottingham Contemporary and Chiswick House Cafe have been nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award, the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.
Credits
Location
London, United Kingdom
Date
2006–2010
Client
English Heritage
Area
450m²
Caruso St John Architects
Adam Caruso, Peter St John
Project team
Rod Heyes, Ah-Ra Kim
Structural engineer
Gifford
Services consultant
Roger Parker Associates
Cost consultant
Press and Starkey
Main contractor
Thomas Sinden
Landscape
JB Landscape
Insitu concrete
Siday Construction Ltd
Photography
Hélène Binet
Awards
RIBA Award
RIBA English Heritage Award
RIBA London Building of the Year
Civic Trust Award
Nominated, EU Mies van der Rohe Award
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