Pyramid House, originally designed by Wigley Fox, was one of 36 landmark homes built by Milton Keynes Development Corporation during the Homeworld Expo of 1981, and required updating to make it more energy efficient.
Homeworld 81 was an open-air housing exhibition held in Bradwell Common, Milton Keynes, in May 1981 – the first housing exhibition to be hosted by the new town.
Organised by Milton Keynes Development Corporation, it demonstrated new trends and technologies at the time, as well as the 36 houses – including Pyramid House – which were sold straight after.
London-based Khan Bonshek was originally commissioned by the new owners – a young family – to rethink the usability of the space within the sloped roof.
The five-bed house is divided into a ‘triptych’ of spaces, categorised as working, living and rest, reorganising the spaces to enhance the house’s circulation within the tapering volumes on each floor.
Influenced by the triangular form of the three-storey house, the practice has created intentional ‘cosy’ areas in smaller sections, while removing partitions to open the ground-floor layout.
At the base of the central spiral staircase sits a small library within the sunken lower ground floor. Around this sit the kitchen, dining and living spaces, which all open on to a large rear patio and garden.
The first and second floors feature bedrooms, as well as a bespoke-designed sauna and two guest pods with single beds tucked into the eaves.
Khan Bonshek described Pyramid House as formerly featuring ‘staccato spaces’ that connected like a stage set rather than being suited to living. It has used the stairwell to unify these fragmented spaces, creating a spiral staircase of sculptural stacked plywood, which remains visible from each floor. To the top sits a lantern skylight.
The birch timber treads, prefabricated in Liverpool by Landmark Joinery, were individually cut and hand-layered to form a smooth, sinuous parabolic curve.
The practice has retained the house’s Postmodern character, using a restrained material palette that features three types of natural terrazzo and light oak timber panelling.
To make the scheme more energy efficient, two ground-source heat pumps have been installed, supported by a highly insulated structure.
 
Project data
Location Milton Keynes
Completion July 2024
Client Private
Architect Khan Bonshek
Interior designer Khan Bonshek
Structural engineer Banfield Wood
Main contractor Manchester Interior Contracts