| Location | Muswell Hill, London |
| Type | New-build, mixed-use development (providing 34 new homes and a commercial/community space) |
| Size | 4,218m2 |
| Status | Completed |
| Builder | Gilbert Ash |
| Photography | Timothy Soar |
| Other | Shortlisted for ‘Apartment Development of the Year’ (Sunday Times/British Homes Awards). |
Description
Located in North London this high-quality, infill development responds to both its context, an Edwardian Conservation Area, and the sites sloped topography. Accommodation on the linear site is split into three parts, all linked by a rejuvenated pedestrian route that reconnects to an adjacent Primary School. Like the public thoroughfare itself, new accommodation descends the hill, shifting and changing in response to specific site conditions.
At the apex of the site, a new-build extension carefully integrates with the retained facade of a local pub, providing 14 new residential flats above a commercial / community space below. Beyond this, a second element contains 6 new modular, townhouses. Following the slope, each house steps down from the next, with facades articulated by a series of generous, angled recesses that reinterpret and invert the bay windows found in the area, creating terraces for residents. Fins forming balustrades to these terraces incorporate a subtle twist, strategically limiting immediate views in, whilst allowing distant views out. Metal panels that line the reveals, incorporate subtle colour changes from house to house, creating a unique palette that continues internally and distinguishes each home.
At the base of the slope, the third and final element adopts the same bold language but now refined to provide 14 new apartments. Here the rear elevation features a distinct sawtooth façade, designed to extend views for new residents and avoid overlooking of neighbouring properties.
Materials reference those already evident in the Conservation Area, but in a contemporary manner. Brickwork adopts a raking monk bond, that cascades with the stepping profile of the buildings. No cut bricks were used on site, offering significant cost benefits, whilst stone banding was made from the largest possible pieces and cut to accentuate the diagonal topography of the scheme’s location.
