“The proposals are bespoke to the site and acknowledge its complexities and constraints. This should be recognised as a positive approach and far better than placing generic designs on to the site, which so often happens.” – Design South East
Project Name: Goldsmith Mews
Studio Name: Office S&M
Status : In Planning
Location : Gravesham, Kent
Team
Landscape : Maude Pinet
Daylight/Sunlight : T16 Design
Transport : Paul Mew Associates
Flood Risk and SUDS : Herrington Consulting
Archaeological : Wessex Archaeology
Goldsmith Mews is a development of three new houses on a derelict infill site in Gravesham. The three bedroom houses are designed to reference the history of the area, and channel the memory of the neighbouring Lord Nelson pub – long since demolished – to create a new mews parallel to the street.
The new Goldsmith Mews – named after the first landlady of the Lord Nelson – is clad in aluminium weatherboarding, which is a contemporary take on a local vernacular material. The surrounding village has a long and eventful history, for example Charles Dickens regularly visited on holidays and his honeymoon. While these stories remain, there are only two historic weatherboarded houses in the village, and Goldsmith Mews seeks to bring back this traditional material in a modern form.
The three storey houses are designed to make the most of the site, while minimising their impact on the surroundings. A set back ground floor, heavily influenced by Erno Goldfinger’s Willow Road, accommodates parking and front doors. The open first floor houses a kitchen diner, facing over the garden, while the “room in the roof” second floor contains bedrooms. Despite this traditional arrangement, the inclusion of a bedroom at first floor level suggests a more flexible use of the home, allowing for a home office or multi-generational family structure, due to its separation. Meanwhile the ground floor living room allows for different uses between the communal parts of the house.
