Life in the Arthaus

A 1930s theatre house, a dance hall, an artists’ studio and a gallery – the Arthaus building in Hackney, London has a rich heritage as a space filled with people and their creations. In 2019 the building was transformed into a purpose-built mixed-use development by Lynas Smith Architects, and is now home to restaurants, a yoga studio, commercial office space, private apartments and gardens. Yet mixed-use developments such as this are a new phenomenon to emerge from the 21st century. Here, home and work are housed side by side – nestled under the same roof in a way that is unique to the relatively recent history of how we live. The photography project started as Lynas Smith moved out of one of the office spaces to a larger office nearby.