Opening in June, Sir John Soane’s Museum presents Architects’ Houses, an exhibition celebrating five London houses all of which (like the Soane Museum) have been designed by the architects who lived and, in some cases, still live in them. Soane’s home is considered a showcase for his architectural philosophy. This is also the case for each of the five exhibited houses, incorporating the most innovative, freethinking designs of five major figures of British architecture.

The houses featured in this new exhibition include William Morris’s Red House, Ernö Goldfinger’s 2 Willow Road, Charles Jencks’ The Cosmic House, Patty and Michael Hopkins’ Hopkins House, and Sarah Wigglesworth’s 9/10 Stock Orchard Street. Each of the houses will be explored through drawings, photographs, models and objects from the houses, reflecting a broad range of modern and contemporary architectural practice.

Sir John Soane built his house at 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields to reflect his own architectural ideals and interests. Soane was renowned for his experimentation with the forms of Classical architecture and inventive use of light. His house was home to his extensive collection of artefacts, models and paintings, arranged to create unexpected juxtapositions which inspired his own designs. Similarly, the coloured glass panels installed throughout the house stemmed from his fascination with light and the effects that it could create as part of an architectural setting.

Dr Erin McKellar, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions at Sir John Soane’s Museum, said

Architects’ own homes can offer wonderful insight into their ideas because they aren’t trying to please anyone but themselves. Soane’s own home functioned this way, expressing his interest in the classical world, the use of light and the surprising manipulation of space. More recent examples of architects’ houses similarly engage with the architectural movements and concepts of their time, such as modernism, postmodernism and sustainable design.

Soane’s house is one of the earliest English examples of a house designed by a professional architect and used for their own good. However, as explored in the exhibition, this is not an isolated phenomenon. Like Soane, each of the five exhibited architects designed their own homes to truly reflect their architectural beliefs –

Red House, William Morris

Red House was designed by Philip Webb and William Morris and built as a home for Morris and his family. A leading figure of the Arts and Crafts movement, Morris believed in the importance of well-made, beautiful objects that were to be used in everyday life. The house reflects Morris’s visions of beauty: the designs drew inspiration from the architecture of French medieval churches and the wallpaper that filled the house was inspired by the surrounding rose gardens.

2 Willow Road, Ernö Goldfinger

In 1939, Ernö Goldfinger built 2 Willow Road, demolishing three neighboring terrace houses and causing controversy among local residents. However, his house embodied two important sources of inspiration for the architect: London’s Georgian architecture, reflected in the red brick façade, and the influence of his teacher, French architect Auguste Perret, evident in the visible load-bearing columns which express the building’s structure. A socially committed architect, Goldfinger believed strongly in opening up green spaces and in allowing ample natural light into spaces, enabled by the large bands of windows at 2 Willow Road.

The Cosmic House, Charles Jencks

Charles Jencks believed that the role of postmodern architecture was to create a symbolic architecture for the modern era. The Cosmic House, built in 1978 and home to Charles, his wife Maggie and two children, John and Lily, was designed to reflect the pattern of the earth’s rotation around the sun and the universe-at-large. On the ground floor, the rooms reflect each of the four seasons, rotating around the Solar Stair, representing the year. The garden, designed by Maggie and influenced by Chinese and Renaissance gardens, also features the idea of time with the months marked on a clockwise route, ending with a mirrored door inscribed ‘future’.

Hopkins House, Michael and Patty Hopkins

Hopkins House serves not only as a home, but also was the first office for Michael and Patty Hopkins’ architectural studio. Built in the late 1970s, at the height of ‘high tech’ architecture, the Hopkins House, built from industrial materials and with a focus on economical, efficient design. The house was intended as a ‘feasibility study’ in how to achieve maximum, flexible space. Nestled amongst a leafy garden, the house is a modular framework of steel columns and glass, allowing the interior space to be subdivided as needed. All structural elements are visible and painted blue to become the house’s main decoration.

9/10 Stock Orchard Street, Sarah Wigglesworth with Jeremy Till

Sarah Wigglesworth constructed 9/10 Stock Orchard Street as an urban eco-house. The hybrid space for living, working and gardening kept environment and sustainability at its core. Built in the early 2000’s, the house is naturally insulated using straw bales and sandbags, with a living roof that naturally regulates the interior temperature. These sandbags also provide a natural sound insulation for Wigglesworth’s office from the busy railway line which sits adjacent to the house. Wigglesworth considers the house a feminist project as it enables her to think about which role she plays in each part of the house – architect, housekeeper and occupant.

Alongside the exhibition the Soane will host a public programme of events. These will include an introductory talk with Patty Hopkins, Lily Jencks and Sarah Wigglesworth, chaired by curator Dr Erin McKellar, taking place on Wednesday, 18 July at 19.00 at Sir John Soane’s Museum. There will also be an opportunity to join architect-led tours of The Cosmic House and 9/10 Stock Orchard Street. Alongside this, Soane’s Drawing Office, the oldest surviving example of its kind, will open to the public this summer. Visitors will be able to explore the Office in person, as well as through new interactive virtual tours and interpretation.