Cecile Park, N8
Crouch End, London Complete 4 Houses (170sq.m.)
Finalist - London Construction Awards 2018 Interior Design of the Year, Shortlisted - Inside Housing Development Awards 2018 Design Quality Award Residential Development
On a narrow backland site formerly occupied by 35 lock-up garages surrounded by the gardens of Victorian houses on the adjacent streets, we obtained planning consent for the redevelopment of this tree-lined site in the heart of Crouch End to be transformed into 4 high-end detached four-bedroom houses.
With the preservation of the neighbour’s amenity a high priority, planning consent was achieved following a lengthy process of negotiation with the planners and neighbours. Due to height restrictions, mitigating any impact on the neighbours, the three-storey houses hide some of their 170 sq.m. floor area in basements, naturally lit through lightwells. The monolithic forms emerging from the ground are clad in black stained-wood cladding with floor-to-ceiling glazing designed to protect the privacy of occupants and neighbours. Each house has a solar array and sedum on the roof, with private parking, garden and terrace spaces.
The windows focus views to create an inward aspect for the houses, a modern interpretation of a traditional mews development. The materials and high-quality design and finish internally and externally create a contemporary contrast within the Victorian context, with external hard landscaping and boundary walls unifying the detached houses.
Each dwelling benefits from an open-plan ground floor space with kitchen, dining and living room facilities, a basement that includes an informal family area opening out onto an open lightwell, with a guest bedroom and bathroom. The first floor contains three further bedrooms. A new steel and hardwood cantilevered staircase links all three floors.
