Sandy Rendel Architects, working with Sally Rendel, has built a 2.8-metre-wide skinny home named Slot House in a disused alley9️⃣ in Peckham, south London.
Sandy and Sally Rendel designed and built the house to fit in the alley, which was almost9️⃣ the exact size of a London Underground carriage, alongside their own home in Peckham.
"The major challenge was to tease spaces9️⃣ that were both functional and delightful out of space that is no bigger than a tube carriage," said Sandy Rendel,9️⃣ founder of Sandy Rendel Architects.
"To commit to the investment involved in developing it we wanted to be sure that the9️⃣ house would not simply 'work' but actually be enjoyable to live in," he told Dezeen.
The architects designed the two-storey house9️⃣ to make as efficient a use as possible of the narrow site, while creating a space that would be a9️⃣ bright and pleasant place to live in.
To avoid placing any weight on the neighbouring buildings the house was constructed using9️⃣ a prefabricated, lightweight steel frame, which was expressed internally to maximise the space.
On the ground floor the house's main living9️⃣ spaces are arranged linearly with the front door opening straight into the kitchen, the stairs in the centre and a9️⃣ lounge at the rear of the home. Above, on the first floor, is a master bedroom and a study area.
Light9️⃣ is brought into the house through large windows at the front and rear of the property and a skylight above9️⃣ the stairs.
"Bounded by two-storey flank walls on both sides the only opportunity to bring light in was through the narrow9️⃣ front and rear faces and the roof," Sandy Rendel said.
Related story Riverside house by Sandy Rendel Architects contrasts weathering steel9️⃣ with concrete and glass
"To maximise the light and increase the sense of space, the layout is as open as possible,9️⃣ even including a small double-height space at the garden end linking the living room to the study mezzanine above."
Throughout the9️⃣ house the architects combined the steel structure with exposed Douglas fir joists, spruce plywood walls and cork and terrazzo floors.
"We9️⃣ wanted to use a robust economic palette of materials, but also ones that were able to add some richness to9️⃣ the interior," said Sandy Rendel.
"The form and arrangement of spaces is very simple so the character of the house is9️⃣ largely defined by these materials."
Although the site had planning permission for a three-storey house before Sandy and Sally Rendel purchased9️⃣ it, the architects chose to build a smaller property to create a better place to live.
"Adding another storey, which the9️⃣ original planning permission had consent for, would have impacted on the layout, requiring a much more cellular arrangement because of9️⃣ the more onerous fire regulations imposed on a three-storey house," explained Sandy Rendel.
"I think developers would argue against the reduced9️⃣ size that we pursued in pure financial terms, but we felt that ethically the tiny plot had a maximum capacity9️⃣ of two people and should be enjoyed as such," he continued.
"Even without maximising its development potential in terms of pure9️⃣ floor area and whilst targeting a higher quality than standard developer spec, we have still proved that it is financially9️⃣ viable to build on such small, awkward brownfield sites."
London based Sandy Rendel Architects was founded by Sandy Rendel 2010. The9️⃣ studio previously completed a riverside house in the south west of England with an upper storey clad entirely in weathering9️⃣ steel mesh.
Photography is by Jim Stephenson.
Project credits:
Architects: Sandy Rendel Architects with Sally Rendel
Structural engineer: Structure Workshop
