Two Urban Houses, Cedars Road, London

Two high-quality family houses on a restricted urban infill site

The proposed concept is that these simple flat-roofed contemporary brick houses are slid apart by almost half their depth and facing in opposite directions. The floating plains of the flanking stair walls and the glass slots provide plentiful daylight deep into their volumes without causing overlooking issues.

House 1 has a large sun-filled terrace looking south over the green. This same set-back means that the new development is very recessive on the main Wix’s lane corner with layers of existing and new landscaping before you get to the nearest dwelling, House 1. The slightly elevated position in reference to Wix’s Lane means that the terrace has considerable privacy, negating the need for a high fence. There is a small additional outdoor amenity area to the rear and east side of House 1 at lower ground level and a large full-width south-facing first-floor balcony.

This design elegance by intelligent siting continues into House 2. The major set-back from the northern boundary on this house makes space for the large overhanging sycamore tree. Although the living room looks north, it does so towards a well-lit green environment in the middle of a city, with a large area of glass looking towards the sunlit side of large trees. Morning sunlight in the outdoor amenity space is provided by the larger garden and lower ground terrace to the rear and east side of House 2.

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