The brief was to create a spacious, light-filled, three-bedroom family home on a tight backland site using sustainable building practices. The internal layout is organised around the principle of each space having a visual connection to the outdoors, while three garden spaces have been created within the constrained site to enhance the inside-outside connection. This was achieved through creating two smaller courtyards at ground level and a larger roof terrace at second floor level.  Surrounded by diverse building typologies, the house’s monolithic structure aims to be a distinctive addition to the street. In response to the client’s sustainability imperative, we not only made material choices that improve insulation and thermal mass in the building, but also took a circular approach to waste materials for internal finishes, re-using off-cuts and surplus elements wherever possible.Advertisement Alex Nikjoo, director, NIKJOO   Project data Start on site March 2023 Completion Gross internal floor area 2 Construction cost £521,000 Construction cost per m2 £4,491 Architect Nikjoo Client Flawk Structural engineer AS Construction Principal designer Nikjoo Approved building inspector Stroma Main contractor U&U Construction CAD software used AutoCAD Annual CO2 emissions 4.48 kgCO2/m2    Architect’s choices Brick was selected for the external skin of the building to sit comfortably in its London stock context, however we wanted to elevate the building through using a contextual, yet varying, brick choice. The intention was for the building to stand out and set a precedent for the service road on which it sits, rather than to blend generically into its surroundings.  We chose to include timber reveals to the external and internal front elevation windows to soften the harshness of the brick façade and create gentle openings. A combination of dark grey metalwork and light grey windows animates the front façade. Likewise, porthole windows in the rear elevation give dynamism and interest, drawing daylight in to the building, yet ensuring there are no overlooking concerns.  Alex Nikjoo, director, NIKJOOAdvertisement   Specification  We prioritised a creative and resourceful approach to the materials and detailing of the building, referencing the historic buildings and Victorian terraces found in the local area to ground the project in the architectural vocabulary of its site. Thus a deep red brick was used for the external façades, while pale pink mortar – mixed and tested on site – runs between the brickwork to mirror the hues of the post-war buildings opposite.  An in-situ cast coping with an integrated aluminium drip detail caps the building. This was selected to use excess concrete and mortar admixture on site, preventing it from going to landfill. The concrete coping gives the building a uniquely rectilinear form, in contrast to the unruly streetscape in which it is situated. The building is passively ventilated and well insulated, with a high thermal mass provided by its raw blockwork structure, which also aesthetically meshes the new building with the fragments of existing buildings on either side. Our client, innovative developer Flawk, acts as a platform for independent, local design, commissioning fixtures and fittings from emerging makers in the area to bring a unique aesthetic.   Alex Nikjoo, director, NIKJOO   Selected products Sliding doors Cortizo Corvision Front façade cortizo.comWindows Cortizo Cor 70 Front façade cortizo.comBricks Wienerberger Olde Melford Red Walls wienerberger.co.ukDecking Millboard Enhanced grain Smoked Oak Terrace millboard.com