Following the failure of two previous planning applications by another practice for a single dwelling on the site, Novak Hiles Architects won planning consent for the two dwellings in summer 2021. The client is a local family-turned-private-developer with longstanding ties to the area.The backland plot, which previously accommodated a derelict lock-up garage, sits within a varied context of Victorian housing and infrastructure alongside more recent volume housing developments.The building was conceived as a solid pale red brick mass, sculpted with deep setbacks and undercuts as well as deep window reveals.AdvertisementThe dual-aspect units are designed for private rental. Flexible in their layout they have bright and spacious interiors with simple, robust detailing. The ceiling joists in the upper storey unit have been left exposed, offering additional headroom.The three-bedroom ground floor flat has a large private garden while the first floor one bedroom flat has a private south-facing terrace. Permeable pale-red terracotta paving tiles reinforce the language of the architecture and are part of a SuDs strategy, which also includes green roofs, gravel beds and a small rain garden.Architects viewBringing our expertise in creative responses to challenging small sites to the fore, we have carefully configured the building form in response to issues of distancing, mass, privacy and outlook relative to the specific characteristics of the site.The ground floor had to be raised to deal with surface water flooding considerations particular to this location. The building was also subject to strict height restrictions owing to its Conservation Area setting. The massing was purposely arranged to minimise any impact on the adjacent residential gardens as well as the windows of the Victorian terraced houses situated to the north.Deep inset openings reinforce the entrance to both dwellings and brick bonds on the front elevation express the external steps leading to the dwelling on the first storey. The external steps are an inherent part of the character of the frontage, and a celebrated part of the architecture, drawing upon historic mews house references and brick details, albeit in a contemporary manner. Deep planters are built into the solid frontage of the building, providing defensible perennial planting and a visual buffer to the cul-de-sac street beyond. The development is car-free, with secure cycle storage integrated into the frontage of the building.Both properties have their own front door and are accessed directly from the street, which the practice considers to be an important ambition across its housing projects. The external steps leading up the top-storey unit mean that there is no loss of area for a shared internal core, maximising the efficiency of the layouts and avoiding the inevitable issues that come with ongoing maintenance of common parts in smaller residential buildings, a characterful solution to a practical problem.The building has been designed to utilise timber frame construction to minimise steel use and maximise insulation thickness, resulting in a building fabric which is thermally high performing. Sustainable technologies including air source heat pumps have also been successfully integrated into the scheme. Collectively, these measures have significantly reduced carbon use within a brick outer fabric that is intended to be robust enough to last for centuries. The development achieves a total carbon reduction of 49 per cent over Part L 2013 regulations.Furthermore, the building provides green roofs and surface water flow control mechanisms utilising gravel beds and a small area of rain garden to attenuate water as part of a SuDs strategy to ensure the development will not impact on wider surface water levels.This project is an important milestone for Novak Hiles Architects, which has enabled the practice to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to the delivery of good-quality housing on challenging urban sites.Contemporary development within conservation areas is often backed into a position of homogeneity or pastiche. This project seeks instead to very carefully find an architecture that is contemporary and bold, but also appropriate, and that enhances the character of the conservation area and beyond.Carla Novak and Adam Hiles, directors, Novak Hiles Architects Source:Novak Hiles ArchitectsProject dataStart on site June 2022CompletionJuly 2023Gross internal floor area 143m2 total (92m2 / 3 bed 5 person unit, 51m2 / 1 bed 2 person unit)Form of contractTraditional, RIBA Concise Building Contract 2018Architect Novak Hiles ArchitectsClient Private DeveloperPlanning consultant Wildstone PlanningStructural and civil engineer GCAEnergy consultant Pro SustainabilityMain contractor TMP Build SolutionsM&E contractor Aspire ServicesApproved building inspector ICWEnvironmental performance and sustainability dataLow-carbon energy sources Air source heat pumpsAnnual CO2emissions 17.8 KgCO2/m2. A total reduction of 49% over Part L 2013 regulations which goes significantly beyond the London Plan overall requirement of 35% reduction.