vPPR received planning permission for a residential development in Brent that transforms a neglected backland site into two four-bedroom family homes, identical but mirrored, each with generous amenity space and access to a shared entrance courtyard.
Project:
- Use: Housing
- Borough: London Borough of Brent
- Status: Complete
- Size: GIA 246m²
- Date: Summer 2022
Team:
- Private Client
- Planning Consultant: Line Planning
- Arboriculturist: CBA Trees
- Structural Engineer: MBOK
- Photography © Ioana Marinescu
PROCESS
The playful geometry of the design – a pure square divided into two triangles with a diagonal party wall – explores ideas of co-living and shared space in a constrained site. This formal arrangement brings a dynamic quality to the internal layout and allows each dwelling to benefit from dual aspect views, with equal frontage on both sides.
The ground floor of each house is primarily open plan with a double height triangular void at its heart, flooded with light from triangular skylights overhead. The staircase runs along the diagonal party wall and leads to a first floor walkway, off which the bedrooms and bathrooms are located. The two triangular voids in plan form a conceptual shared square together at the heart of the development. The bedroom roofs project upwards towards the perimeter, drawing the outside in.
Square terraces are cut out of the four corners of the plan, creating pockets of private and shared external space. The site is surrounded by a wall of tall, mature trees which create natural screening to the site. Each brick house is assigned a different grey colour tone, one light and one dark, bringing identity to each. The houses are treated as two interlocking volumes forming a single object in the garden.
A gradient of greys is applied to the proposal, with each quarter a different shade, allowing the houses to be identified as individual dwellings. The houses are considered as three interlocking volumes, with each house formed as an object, using the same brickwork tone for the walls, as well as the roof.
The proposal is intended to be a sensitive addition to the area, providing three high quality family homes, which have an attractive distinct character of their own that is also strongly contextual.
Axonometric
Site Plan
Ground Floor Plan
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First Floor Plan
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Roof Plan
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Section
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Model Image
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