Featuring top-lit, loft-like studio spaces and inspired by Japanese architecture, 1 Cobham Mews in north London was the practices debut new-build project in the UK and could become Chipperfields first project to be nationally listed.The 71-year-old architect, who was knighted in 2010 and who was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2023, has thrown his weight behind the listing bid, describing the studio on the one-time scrapyard site off Agar Grove as an important early project for our practice.Split into three distinct elements, the office was David Chipperfield Architects first home and was occupied by the practice for more than 20 years before it relocated to Waterloo in 2011.AdvertisementIt then became the studio of landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman. It is understood BGP Studio, a sister company of Gustafson Porter + Bowman, is behind the current planning application to convert the building into four homes.The design and access statement submitted last year to Camden Council states: Given the residential character of the area in which the building is placed and the need to bring the building up to current standards of insulation and carbon-free heating, it has been decided to apply for a change of use from Category E office use to Category C3 dwelling house use, for which the buildings form and character is eminently suited and requires very little change in its external appearance.The Twentieth Century Society has said that, although it supports the conversion in principle, a listing assessment that results in a designation would ensure any changes were sympathetic to the heritage of the building.The application has already prompted a number of objections from neighbours, who have raised concerns about the impact of the conversion on the buildings architectural integrity, their privacy and potential issues with overlooking.Looking back at the history of the building, Chipperfield said: We found the opportunity [at Cobham Mews] and introduced it to the developer, Derwent Valley, who then commissioned us to design the building. During the process we agreed to rent one half of the building as our studio.AdvertisementThe architect said the site was completely landlocked by the gardens of neighbouring buildings and, as a result, the design and realisation of the building was totally determined by this condition, having to protect the roots of trees in the neighbours gardens.Chipperfield added: The lack of aspect meant that the building had to receive most of its daylight from rooflights or via small courtyards. The inspirations for the building were the typical Victorian artists studios in London and the normal small-scale industrial buildings of the area. The building provided us with a very comfortable working space for many years.Twentieth Century Society director Catherine Croft believes the small-scale, tucked-away gem is a valuable marker of the qualities and approach for whichChipperfield has become famous for in his better-known projects.She said: Before the Neues Museum and the Hepworth Wakefield, before the Pritzker Prize, there was 1 Cobham Mews. In this modest, modernist backlands project, we can see early evidence of the rigour and meticulous attention to detail that would later become hallmarks of David Chipperfields work.She added: Historic Englands listing guidance for residential buildings recommends particular credit where architects are designing for themselves.Wed contend that this also applies to architects places of work, where the intimacy of the working environment and the values of the practice are manifest.Gustafson Porter + Bowman has been contacted for comment.1 Cobham Mews by David Chipperfield Architects1 Cobham Mews Twentieth Century Society citationBuilt on an awkward triangular plot, bounded by the back gardens of surrounding properties on all three sides, the building has only one visible elevation. The geometry of the site and a planning condition that stipulated avoidance of overlooking neighbours, led to a design that favoured top-lit, loft-like studio spaces. Chipperfield has stated that the controlled views of the building drew inspiration from Victorian artists studios and the traditions of Japanese architecture.The main studio spaces are externally represented by two double-height glass block screens, redolent of the Maison du Verre in Paris (Pierre Chareau and Bernard Bijvoet, 1928-32). These symmetrical screens are separated by a spine wall of exposed in-situ concrete, with two substantial oak doors located at either side.Each door opens onto a stair, which runs up along the spine wall to studio space on the mezzanine level. The stairs have exposed concrete treads and each has a slender metal handrail, with a profile that references that at Le Corbusiers Maisons Jaoul (Paris, 1954-56). Overall the interiors are composed of simple, carefully detailed, high-quality materials; an early example of what would later become known as a hallmark of Chipperfields work.The client was Derwent Valley Properties. Derwents David Rosen and Simon Silver worked on the project.David Chipperfield was the partner in charge and Michael Cullinan the project architect, with assistance from Jorge Carvalho, Evan Webber, Robert Maxwell and John Southall. Price & Myers was the structural engineer. We understand that the building survives in excellent condition, externally and internally. Its original layout, finishes and fixtures remain in-situ.