This bright, contemporary answer to the classic Victorian terrace, sited on a slope within a conservation area, are completed to a design by MW Architects in conjunction with the RIBA Award-winning developers Solidspace (now Unboxed Home).
Project Name: Essex Mews
Studio Name: MW Architects
Project Size: 134 m2
Site Size: 700 m2
Project Budget: $330000
Completion Date: 2014
Building Levels: 5
Location: London, United Kingdom
Photography: French & Tye
Modern twists like oversized porches and slimline brick subvert the local typology while satisfying the planning department. In this trio of three-bedroom houses, rooms grow out from a narrow front foyer into a multilevel space connected by open staircases, airy landings and voids. Each house is positioned for maximum privacy and exposure to natural light while maintaining privacy and light for one another.
Each of the properties has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a private garden and off-street parking.
Externally, it incorporates vernacular elements including brick façades and pitched roofs. By contrast, the interior arrangement is entirely modern. The key social spaces of the house – the areas for eating, living and working – feel connected but semi-private at the same time. This design not only creates volume (each house measures 338 cubic metres), it also eradicates the traditional areas of wasted space such as hallways.
Equipped with oak engineered hardwood floors, slate floor tiles, solid granite kitchen worktops, solid-core timber doors, Cat 5e cabling and low-energy lighting. They also incorporate high-performance double-glazed windows, high levels of insulation and superior air tightness to help eliminate drafts and reduce heat loss. A mechanical ventilation and heat-recovery unit offers improved air quality and energy efficiency.
