FBM Architects have obtained planning consent for four new homes at Algernon and Embleton Road for Lewisham Homes on the site of redundant garages. Our design capitalises on the dramatic level change across the site, with a new public route connecting the two streets and split-level home types with wide garden.

The design of the scheme has been developed through the process of public consultation and provides 3 bedroom / 5 person residences. The houses facing Embleton and Algernon Road follow the roof line and setback of the neighbouring Victorian terraced houses, returning the street massing to its pre-war grain, their scale is broken down into three elements. On the ground floor, a ‘hit and miss’ brick garden wall wraps around the corner extending the connection between the two roads. Above it, a conventional brick finish is used to define the first-floor level while the roof is expressed by the metal zinc cladding. The roof of the two central houses is chamfered to reduce the scale of the dwellings and maximise daylight to the gardens at the front and rear. These residences have a split level ground floor, the front door leading from the access path into the hallway that steps down into glazed space, which spans the width of the house and opens onto a private garden.

Careful attention has been given to ensure the pedestrian route does not become an anonymous space, with the new houses asserting an extent of ownership by cantilevering first floor accommodation over the front doors. These cantilevers have windows looking along the route providing passive surveillance. Outside each front door, the route opens out to provide a smaller seating or planting area, further varying the scale of the route, creating ‘places’ along its length.

WordPress developer @whoisandywhite