Our client wanted to create a bespoke, contemporary dwelling on a long, slender parcel of land, which had been in a state of abandonment since the decline of industry on the Isle of Dogs. The challenge of this project was how to make most effective use of a tight and highly constrained site in a conservation area, to deliver a high quality, contextual home.

A slender dark Belgian brick, and slim blackened timber cladding articulate the three cube-like masses which sit above the line of the garden fences. The materials were chosen to complement the soot-stained London stock bricks of the surrounding estate, and the dark brick of the Dutch-inspired Lockesfield Place.

The house is partially sunken, which allows a sense of space within whilst being subservient to the historic built fabric of the street. Large minimal sliding windows to the rear and a tall wrap-around slot window over the stair allow light into the sunken interior spaces of the ground floor. Corner windows to both bedrooms provide views to the street and leafy garden scenes beyond.

Despite the narrow width of the site – 1.8m at its narrowest – C&PA proposed a modest yet spacious and light-filled family home, with a courtyard-like front garden and leafy rear garden. A bold and yet sensitive approach to a challenging set of constraints.