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13 August 2019

Strata & Lantern House planning granted

A pair of new-build individual villas directly responding to the surrounding context.

We recently gained planning permission for a pair of new-build houses that are designed to read as a pair of individual villas, which share a similar scale and layout, but are unique in their materiality and form.

Due to the sensitive nature of the site, we were approached to develop a design that was primarily driven by the need to sit comfortably with the neighbouring properties, one of which is a listed building, and another a contemporary detached home.

The massing was generated through careful analysis of the existing buildings either side, both in plan and elevation, which we explored through physical models. The tallest parts of both houses have been positioned in the middle of the plot, with pitched roofs that slope down towards the boundaries, responding to the adjacent building’s eave heights.

The house nearest the listed building, “Strata”, has been designed in a Neo Arts & Crafts style, featuring long sloping roofs and a bold, simple chimney stack. It reads as a contemporary dwelling yet references the examples of Arts & Crafts housing in the wider area. We broke down the form into strong horizontal strata, using layers of bricks and tiling, as well as large roof forms to disguise the third-storey from the street views.

The other house nearer the contemporary neighbour, “Lantern”, adopts a stronger language, featuring a ceramic louvred façade that provides a degree of shading from the sun and privacy to its neighbours as well as disguising openings at the third floor. A double-storey window to the front sits behind the louvres, bringing light deep into the plan and through the atrium hallway behind.

The outcome is a set of unique houses that respond meaningfully to their corresponding adjacencies but still sit comfortably together. We are thrilled to have achieved planning and look forward to the next stages of the project.

Read more: Strata + Lantern House