THE BARBER SHOP

Around the bend from the eponymous railway hub, the metropolitan bustle of King’s Cross Road in London quickly gives way to a more intimate urban scene. Among the local cafés, hair salons, burger joints and tattoo parlours, a modest olive-green storefront displays a wealth of architectural models. Accented by arches and extrusions, the eclectic jumble of forms and volumes conjures a tableau of a city in miniature. Above the door, the sign reads “Peter Barber Architects.”

This six-person design studio is responsible for some of the U.K.’s most inventive new housing. Specializing in affordable and mixed-income homes that embrace dynamic street life, it boasts a portfolio of work distinguished by the ingenious use of constrained sites to create generous living spaces and — hopefully — foster sociable communities.

And the world is taking notice. In 2021,