A work of the architect Amin Taha, this seven-story block contains apartments – including this own home on the top floor – and the offices of his practice, Groupwork. Defined by its limestone structure, the building makes references to a ruined 11th-century abbey where limestone was used and which is very much part of the neighborhood’s history. Its cubic form is emphasized by the facade’s petrous grid, which frames large square-shaped windows. The columns and beams present different textures: smooth, rough, perforated, or with the marks of the extraction carried out in the quarry. The facade is formed by structural columns of limestone which are set apart from but connected to the building envelope.

The 15 Clerkenwell Close project won the 2018 RIBA National Award in 2018 and was recently shortlisted for the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize. Because of a long dispute with Islington Council over planning, which almost led to the building’s demolition, the project was not considered for the Stirling the same year it capped the National Award.