Ezra Street II, London E2

Elegantly redesigned by architectural practice Al-Jawad Pike, this two-bedroom house lies on the site of a Victorian flour store. It unfolds across two storeys and has been designed to optimise spatial flow and natural light. At the front is a private courtyard garden - a calm retreat set back from the buzz of Columbia Road. Here, a brilliant offering of restaurants and shops can be found. Transport options are excellent, with Bethnal Green and Old Street stations both nearby.



The Architect



Al-Jawad Pike is a London-based award-winning architectural studio founded in 2014 by Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike. The studio operates across a variety of sectors spanning private residential, multi-unit housing schemes, luxury store design and temporary installations. With a sensitive approach to materials and intuitive understanding of construction and detail at the forefront, their process is both meticulous and exploratory, underpinned by research, technical expertise and collaborative dialogue.



The Tour



The house is tucked between two buildings on a residential street with no-through traffic. Beyond this unsuspecting stock-brick façade are luminous interiors, cleverly planned to optimise the footprint. From the pedestrian walkway, the entrance gate reveals a private, paved courtyard garden.



Here, steel-framed glazed doors open to an airy entrance hall. The ground floor is arranged in an open-plan layout, with interconnected zones linked by a striking terrazzo-style, polished asphalt and granite floor. Windows are double-glazed throughout, and radiators are by Zehnder.



Immediately to the right is the living room, with shuttered reeded glass windows and floor-to-ceiling shelves that provide abundant space to store and display books and artwork.



At the rear is a linear box clad in strips of oak and bathed in natural light from mono-pitch glazing overhead, home to an open-plan kitchen and dining area. The kitchen is fitted with bespoke, oak veneer cabinets and joinery topped with brushed stainless-steel worktops. Appliances include an electric fan oven from Smeg, a gas hob and a separate fridge and freezer. A portal captures views through to the front of the house and provides access to the courtyard and outdoor sitting area. Also on this floor is a separate wet room with space for utilities.



A staircase ascends to the upper floor, where there are two bedrooms with high vaulted ceilings and exposed beams. Both are finished with a soothing, neutral scheme and have newly fitted soft carpeted floors. The principal bedroom overlooks Ezra Street, while the smaller room, currently used as a study, has a generous built-in wardrobe with access to a storage space in the roof.



The Area



Ezra Street is positioned just off Columbia Road, host to a popular flower market on Sundays. There is a wide array of pubs and restaurants nearby, including the Royal Oak, Brawn and Campania. An outpost of Victoria Park’s favourite, Pavilion, is ideally placed for a coffee and a pastry. Also worthy of note are Equal Parts, Morito and The Marksman on Hackney Road.



Bethnal Green is a short walk away and is known for café E. Pellicci, restaurants Ombra and Bistrotheque, and for its galleries, including Maureen Paley and Rose Easton.



The green open spaces of Haggerston Park are a short walk away, with London Fields and Broadway Market also close. Shoreditch is a short stroll to the south and home to some of London’s best bars, restaurants and high-end retailers, including the Soho House group’s Shoreditch House, Rochelle Canteen and Blue Mountain School.



Bethnal Green (Central and Weaver lines) and Old Street (Northern line) stations are equidistant, and Hoxton and Shoreditch High Street are both nearby for London Overground services. Round-the-clock buses are available along the nearby Hackney Road.



Council Tax Band: D