The siting and shape of the new terrace of twelve houses is governed by the position of mature trees around the perimeter of the plot and minimum overlooking distances stipulated by the planners for the surrounding houses.

This north-east London residential suburb dates from the 1920s. The streets are laid out with semi-detached and terraced two-storey houses with pitched roofs in the midst of which an open green, now our site, was planned. In the second half of the C20th the green had been developed to accommodate a now-defunct community centre.

The planners sought a design that was sympathetic to the surrounding buildings in height and massing. The result is an unusual terrace of three-storey, three and four bedroom houses, which weaves in and out of the trees avoiding their roots.

Ten three-bedroom mid-terrace dwellings are paired with their neighbours by projecting wings front and back that accommodate kitchens and bathrooms. The two four-bedroom houses that bookend the terrace turn to face the side street. All the houses have been designed to meet the GLA’s Lifetime Homes standards and the four-beds can in addition be converted for wheelchair users. The development provides 60 habitable rooms at a density of 209 habitable rooms per hectare. Residents will use existing on-street parking.

The buildings are timber-frame construction and clad in natural cement board. The timber windows are unusually generous especially the dormers which establish a strong rhythm on the long street elevation.