Marshmallow-pink Cloud House pairs two homes in Gospel Oak

Architect Peter Morris has completed Cloud House, a marshmallow-pink, two-home development in Gospel Oak, London, measuring 133 and 165 square metres and built on the site of a demolished Victorian house.

The project combines two offset residences. One belongs to Morris and his partner, producer Emily Kennedy, who have lived on the site since 2016. The other belongs to a neighbour who shares their love of colour.

"The key goal was to make a beautiful building which I hoped might create a little moment of joy for anyone walking past it on the street," Morris told Dezeen. He said the project gave his "love of postmodernism a chance to reveal itself fully".

Where do the colours come from?

The bold palette and cloud-like forms trace back to the couple's honeymoon in Miami and its art deco architecture. "Emily and I honeymooned in Miami, where we loved the art deco curves of the buildings, and the pink and turquoise colours everywhere," Morris explained. "In a way this building is an architectural love letter to my wife, so it felt appropriate to have some of that honeymoon spirit in the mix."

The design also responds to its neighbours: a Grade II-listed school and Grade I-listed St Martin's Church, which Morris called "fabulously eccentric buildings". The school, in St Martin's Hall, "has a frontage that looks like a Medieval castle," he said. The church, described by historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "the craziest of London's Victorian churches", has a brightly coloured chancel ceiling and dramatic wooden nave arches.

What is Cloud House made of?

The main structure is structural steel and blockwork. Decorative arches made of polystyrene, sprayed with a waterproof layer and textured top coat to match the pink render, were positioned in place by Morris himself.

Morris's smaller home sits on the right of the plot. It has a large open-plan ground floor with a lounge, kitchen and the architect's studio, entered from the front elevation. Two upper floors each hold a bedroom and bathroom. A roof terrace with an outdoor bathtub crowns the home.

The 165-square-metre neighbour's home uses a side entrance and an upside-down arrangement:

• Ground floor: home office with kitchenette and a guest ensuite bedroom at the rear
• First floor: main bedroom with dressing room and ensuite, plus a smaller ensuite bedroom
• Top floor: social space with seating, dining and cooking, an adjoining terrace, and a second larger terrace on the roof

Morris's interiors match the exterior: turquoise epoxy floors, colour-drenched bathrooms and an emerald-green striped kitchen. The neighbour's interiors were left blank for customisation.

How has it been received?

Cloud House featured on the TV show Grand Designs in September and spread widely on social media. Reactions split cleanly. "The reactions to it on social media have been either overwhelmingly positive or overwhelmingly negative, with nothing in between," Morris said.

"It's easy to dismiss colour and pattern in architecture as frivolous, but there's something about this visual language that triggers an emotional response that's different from what you'll get with elegant modernism," he continued, arguing for "more fairytale flamboyance on our streets" with councils as open as Camden. His hope: that admirers will "commission me to create something colourful and joyful for them too".