Designed by Michael and Patty Hopkins soon after the foundation of the practice, Hopkins House is a lightweight steel and glass building and regarded as a key early work.

Located in Hampstead, the house was also used as a studio for the first decade of the practice. The house has a 10m x 12m rectangle footprint defined by building restriction lines, and is arranged on two levels over a sloping site. Access to the main entrance is at first floor level across a footbridge, with the lower level opening out onto the garden. The two levels are connected internally by an open spiral staircase.

With a small-scale structural steel grid of 2m x 4m, the design experiments with construction techniques being developed for commercial buildings. The result is a building of extreme simplicity and refinement. Perimeter columns at 2m centres support the cladding and glazing without the need for sub-frames or sheeting rails. A two-way grid of lattice trusses on freestanding columns supports metal decking for both floor and roof. Front and back walls have full-height sliding glass doors, with no vertical frames.

Internal planning is open and flexible, with domestic spaces arranged mainly on the lower floor and the studio positioned at entrance level. Venetian blinds hanging between the internal columns define various living functions, with prefabricated melamine partitions enclosing the bedrooms and shower pods. Further Venetian blinds moderate heat gain and heat loss through the all-glass walls.

The house was Grade II* listed in 2018.