Under the arches: ingenious home built into historic London railway viaduct for sale

Inside the surprisingly spacious home opens up through a 16ft-high vaulted ceiling allowing natural light to flow through the house.
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An award-winning and inventive London home built around one of the capital’s historic 19th century viaducts is for sale.

The 1,600 sq ft Archway Studios, which won the prestigious House of the Year gong at the New London Architecture Awards in 2013 for its clever design, surprises visitors who enter the south London home with its use of space and light.

Inside, the home opens up through a 16ft-high vaulted ceiling linked to a three-storey atrium.

Built with true ingenuity, the exterior of the two bedroom Walworth house is clad in weathered steel, reflecting the industrial landscape of its railway arch setting.

Natural light flows down through the slender atrium into the living quarters nestled within the archway, creating a light and airy atmosphere within the house.

The rooms adjoining the atrium and its system of curves are two bathrooms and a study, accessed through a spiral staircase.

Though hidden away on a former brownfield site, the property currently combines a family home with a studio. And its location under railway does not impinge on the lives of the people inside – the property is encased in a protective acoustic shell in the form of slender steel foils.

It was also built with a rubber foundation and features noise-dampening devices within its walls to ensure the bedrooms and open-plan areas are left undisturbed by external sounds.

The architect behind the property, Didier Ryan, of Undercover Architects, and his wife Candice Lake, built the unorthodox home for themselves in 2013.

“This home has been a real gift to live in,” Lake previously told Homes and Property. “I love that it’s hidden from the street so it feels like our little secret. I also love seeing people’s faces upon entering. It is like stepping into Narnia. It is big and white but still feels so intimate.”

Originally listed for £1,085,000, the owners have now reduced the price of the property to £999,999 in the hopes of finding the ideal buyer.