Heartwood is a minimalist home located in London, United Kingdom, designed by Knox Bhavan. The project’s most telling detail emerges not in its grand gestures but in its quiet restraint. Where many renovation projects trumpet their modernity through jarring contrasts, Knox Bhavan has chosen a different path, one that recalls the tradition of Japanese sashimono joinery, where the beauty lies in the precision of connections rather than the showiness of display. The central staircase, painted white with oak treads and open risers, embodies this philosophy perfectly. Its “lacy, sculptural form” serves not as architectural ego but as a light-conducting spine, drawing illumination deep into the building’s narrow footprint with the efficiency of a periscope.

This approach to light as a material – rather than merely an environmental condition – connects Heartwood to a broader movement in contemporary architecture that prioritizes atmospheric qualities over pure aesthetics. The 4.5 x 1.5 meter walk-on rooflight functions like a giant oculus, reminiscent of the Pantheon’s dome but serving a distinctly modern purpose: unifying the home’s vertically stacked program through shared illumination. Knox Bhavan’s custom steel lights with perforated shades continue this theme, creating what might be called “punctured luminosity” – light that filters rather than floods.

The material palette reveals equally thoughtful consideration. Oak appears throughout not as a nostalgic gesture but as a practical choice for durability in rental housing. The architects’ decision to pair it with stainless steel countertops, Corian surfaces, and micro-concrete finishes creates a contemporary vernacular that acknowledges both the building’s Victorian bones and its modern performance requirements. This hybrid language speaks to a generation of architects who understand that sustainability often means working with, rather than against, existing structures.