Practice shows off new home in south London conservation area
Cottrell & Vermeulen Architecture has completed a new two-storey mews house on the site of a former garage in south London.
As well as delivering a new home fronted with stock brick and waney-edge timber panelling, the project has also seen the practice refurbish and remodel the Georgian house to its rear.
Practice associate Paul Taylor said the 98sq m new home in Stories Mews, behind Grove Lane, was sandwiched between two remarkable Georgian streets in the Camberwell Grove Conservation Area and had been designed to fit in with its neighbouring mews homes – one built in stable style, the other more modern, both of which were built in the past decade and a half.
“Our approach was to respect the two-storey building line established by the neighbours and create a simple and robust insertion in the gap of the two existing houses,” he said.
“At only six metres wide, we developed the plan to include an integrated car park space; a precious commodity on a narrow mews. The main space on the ground floor is an open-plan kitchen/living/dining area that opens on to a brick paved garden area to the rear.
“The restriction of the building height line led us to create the minimal roof and floor build make-ups in order to maximise ceiling heights.”
Taylor said first-floor joists in the entrance hall and living space had been left exposed to give a floor-to-ceiling height of 2.7m.
He added that two covered balconies had been introduced to the first-floor rear of the mews house after Southwark council planning officers voiced concerns about two large windows that had been proposed.
He said the issue had been “turned into a positive” because the balconies provided additional external area and had their lines set at an angle meaning there was no direct overlooking from the bedrooms they served.
Grove Lane project data
Practice: Cottrell and Vermeulen Architecture
Project : Grove Lane
Location: 141 Grove Lane, Camberwell, London, SE5 8BG
Borough: London Borough of Southwark
Client: Private
Structural Engineer: Engineers HRW
M&E Engineers: OR Consulting
Main Contractor: Onyx Investment Ltd
Building Control: Approved Inspector Services
Party Wall Surveyors: Set Square Surveyors Ltd
CDMC: The Quoin Consultancy
Contract Type: JCT Intermediate Building Contract with CDP 2016
Gross Internal Floor Area: 98sqm
Site Start: November 2017
Completion: August 2018
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