A three storey house including full size basement located on a challenging, tight urban infill plot surrounded on three sides by Victorian terraces with only pedestrian access from the highway.
The site was acquired by our developer client some years ago and had been used for storage. Their brief was to replace two existing prefabricated concrete storage units with a four bedroom contemporary home that created views and a sense of openness around the site whilst minimising overlooking to and from neighbouring properties.
The response was a stepped plan that followed to the triangular shape of the plot, with open corner windows along the line of the entrance path creating wider ground floor views and improved site lines from front to rear garden. The floor plan was designed around a central spiral stair with generous fully glazed landings on each level and a top lit obscure glass box providing vertical daylight down through the core of the building. Three of the four bedrooms has en-suite accommodation and privately accessed external space. In the spirit of this unconventional site, the building has been designed with no clear hierarchy of bedroom space, so combinations of sleeping, living and workspace can be employed. The ground floor living space is open plan, designed with pocket sliding and hinged doors to create free-flowing continuous circulation around the central stair, with through-room views designed around the building to improve the sense of space. The first floor element, designed as three monopitch forms, draws daylight in without being overlooked by using combination of clerestory window for ambient light and a single casement for aspect.
