Living with Timber: EBBA's Benni Allan Prioritizes Material Consciousness

Summary

• EBBA director Benni Allan’s new home doubles as a live-in design showcase
• Interiors feature Douglas fir, reclaimed mahogany parquet and concealed open-plan kitchen storage
• Custom furniture and a collaborative Douglas fir speaker highlight Allan’s passion for experimentation

The newly completed home of London-based architectural and design practice, EBBA’s director, Benni Allan, serves as both a personal residence and an experimental design showcase. Conceived as a “live-come-showspace,” the apartment embodies Allan’s philosophy of living among objects that evolve over time. Pieces collected from collaborators and friends are displayed in a gallery-like setting, encouraging ongoing exploration of how design interacts with everyday life.

Spatially, the apartment is arranged around a large open-plan kitchen and living area, where the functional aspects of the kitchen are concealed behind expansive cupboards. This central piece of furniture not only provides ample storage but also resolves the sharp angles of the original building, maintaining a sense of calm through raw plaster surfaces and warm timber finishes. The main bedroom connects to the kitchen via a full-height sliding door, allowing borrowed light to permeate the space. A study off the corridor doubles as a workshop, often filled with discarded materials awaiting transformation into new experiments.

A defining feature of the interiors is the extensive use of Douglas fir, applied across walls, floors and joinery. This choice highlights Allan’s interest in testing cost-effective materials for durability and longevity. Complementing the timber are reclaimed elements, such as mahogany parquet salvaged from a previous EBBA project, which add layers of narrative and sustainability to the design. The interplay between new and found materials underscores the apartment’s experimental quality, positioning it as both a home and a laboratory for architectural ideas.

The interiors also showcase Allan’s passion for furniture and music, with custom-designed pieces integrated into the home. A stacked coffee table serves as a centerpiece and part of a new collection under development by EBBA, while a bespoke Douglas fir speaker, created in collaboration with Friendly Pressure and Our Department, adds a distinctive touch. These objects reinforce the apartment’s dual identity as a living space and creative platform, encapsulating EBBA’s commitment to inventive, materially rich design that bridges functionality with artistic expression.