The challenge of this project was to tease functional and delightful spaces out of an unpromising opportunity. The plot was ⚽️ a narrow 2.8m wide break in an existing terrace, bounded by flank walls on both sides, which had lain vacant ⚽️ for a number of years. We bought the site as part of a deal to acquire some garden space at ⚽️ the rear of our house. However rather than extending our own property the high land value forced us to consider ⚽️ dividing the plot and developing this strip with street frontage separately. Although consent for a 3-storey house already existed we ⚽️ made a conscious decision to re-apply for a smaller 2-storey 1-bed scheme, prioritising quality of space over minimising space standards ⚽️ and maximising gross development.
To fully exploit the constrained width, avoid loading the neighbouring structures and straddle shared utilities running under ⚽️ the site, the house was constructed using a lightweight steel frame on a piled slab. The steelwork was prefabricated as ⚽️ a series of portal frames that were craned down the alley and site-welded together. Given that every inch in such ⚽️ a narrow space was valuable we chose to fully weld the connections and express the frame internally, even utilising the ⚽️ depth of the steels to maximise the space.
Alongside the painted steel a simple palette of spruce plywood, douglas fir joists, ⚽️ terrazzo and cork flooring enriches the interior. Externally the timber framed walls are clad in handmade pewter glazed brick slips ⚽️ with a patina that reflects the changing light of the sky. Both the simply landscaped and planted rear courtyard and ⚽️ the garden in front of the house enhance the feeling of space in this small dwelling.
This self-build project had a ⚽️ long gestation, fitted in around professional and family life. The design and construction were developed as time and money allowed ⚽️ so whilst planning consent was given in January 2014 and the ground works commenced in the spring of 2024, the ⚽️ building was not completed until August 2024. We worked closely with friend and joiner Michael Tye to lead a small ⚽️ team of local subcontractors and employed specialist fabricators for certain key packages as well as undertaking a fair amount of ⚽️ the work ourselves.
The result is a unique and highly crafted home that is a testament to the commitment, effort and ⚽️ support of many people. By replacing a narrow disused alley with this comfortable small home we hope to have enhanced ⚽️ the streetscape we inhabit. As the building completes the terrace, so does the front garden - with the simple bin ⚽️ store, planting, level access and bike parking we aimed to keep it open and reinforce the pavement line without making ⚽️ a hard boundary. The development highlights the viability, both economically and spatially of small brownfield sites to provide high quality ⚽️ sustainable development at a time of housing shortage. We see it as a model for other seemingly undevelopable urban gap ⚽️ sites where the value added is through the quality of the architecture rather than over-development.
Material Used :
1. Cavendish Equipment – ⚽️ kitchen worktop
2. Robus Ceramics LLP – pewter glazed tiles
3. Mereway Kitchens – carcasses
4. Vent-Axia Group Ltd - MVHR system
5. Front ⚽️ Yard Company – bin store
6. Love Floors – oak flooring
7. Siesta Cork Tile Company – cork flooring
8. Zangra – light ⚽️ fittings
9. Flos – light fittings
10. Roofglaze – rooflights
11. Guttercrest Ltd – roof coping
12. Protektor UK – specialist plaster trims
13. GIL-LEC ⚽️ Ltd – electrical supplies
14. Valchromat – furniture finishes
15. Fenix –furniture finishes
16. Sugatsune - ironmongery
17. D-Line – ironmongery
18. English Woodlands Timber ⚽️ – Douglas fir joists
19. Mosa tiles – bathroom tiling
20. Duravit – sanitaryware
21. Hans Grohe – brassware
22. Majestic Shower Company – ⚽️ shower door
23. Kaldewei – bath
24. Eurobrick Cladding Systems – brickslip cladding system
