Next door neighbours and friends were seeking to down size from larger Victorian terrace houses while remaining within their community. The brief revolved around building two new houses at the bottom of their very long back gardens with a shared aim of open-plan, ecologically sustainable, low-cost living.  

Previously occupied by brick garages which defined an overall plot width of 14 metres, the architect’s main concern was how to create light-filled accommodation on a steep, narrow site with limited access and views.  
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The houses were constructed by the same team through a shared building contract to enable best value to both owners. New retaining walls carve out the full width of the site while glazed openings are limited to the front and rear elevations only.  

Accommodation is arranged over two floors. Car parking (a planning requirement) and ancillary spaces occupy much of the subterranean lower level while a shared lightwell provides natural light to a bedroom and flexible workspace at the rear. On the upper level extensive glazing and strategically placed roof lights maximise light and views out to the surrounding woods.  

Central to design of both houses is a cantilevered staircase– one finished in concrete, the other in timber. The result of a close collaboration between architect, engineer, contractor and client and specialist expertise of steel fabricator Clifford Chapman & Co and concrete artist and sculptor, Russ Coleman.  

A limited palette of robust, utilitarian materials is used throughout, referencing the site’s industrial past. Oversized sliding and pivot doors on exposed steel rails provide security and easy access. Metal framed windows and boarded doors are set in deep masonry reveals of flush pointed red brick while the same brickwork extends into key interior spaces. Internal floors are industrial power floated screed. 

Thermal efficiency is delivered by an air-tight external envelope consisting of simple loadbearing masonry, in-situ concrete, engineered timber and double glazed thermally broken windows. Heating is provided by ground sourced heat pumps which supply pipework within the exposed screed floors. Natural ventilation is supplemented by a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system which also acts as a heat recovery system.  

The extensively planted green roofs are designed to hold rainwater to prevent excessive run-off into the local drainage system. Biodiversity is supported through the planting of native tree species in the rear gardens and indigenous wildflowers on the green roofs.