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Two Houses |
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Two Houses |
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A pair of houses occupy
this site in Hackney where once there were three. These two houses
offer an essay in updating the tradition of the London terrace to
suit the requirements of living in the 21st century. The site, a terrace of three derelict houses, is located on a north/south lane historically connecting Newington Green with Stoke Newington Church Street. It now contains a mix of residential and light industrial properties. The commission was to build two 3-storey private houses, the northern of which is adjacent to an existing 2-storey house. This has a garage and kitchen/dining area at the lowest level 0.9m below the street, living rooms on the middle floor, and a bedroom and bathroom at the top. The south house extends out at street level to frame a new brick-paved court in front of the two houses. Inside the house will be deceptive to the visitor. With the kitchen, dining room, guest bedroom and shower room at the lowest level, and a large living room on the top floor it appears to be just two-storey. The middle floor (two bedrooms and a bathroom) is however concealed from the reception rooms, accessed only by a secret stair. Both houses have terraces on the top floor to capture the setting sun. Original bricks salvaged from the demolition are used to corral the two houses and gardens, forming the street elevation and walls to provide a visual and historical continuity to the site. The rear elevation is clad in black stained timber boarding with timber framed glazing. As well as the sustainable use of materials (e.g. the reuse of the brick on the site) a number of other environmental features are incorporated. These include passive natural ventilation via floor voids and roof outlets, energy efficient heating with condensing boiler and underfloor heating, together with high levels of insulation and the use of thermal mass (concrete floors) to augment heating with passive solar gain. Buschow Henley worked in conjunction with structural engineer Rodrigues Associates and cost consultant Stockdale. Two Houses was published in Architecture Today in July 2006 and received a Hackney Design Award in 2007. |
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