This small mews in North London was developed as five units – 2 one bedroom houses and 2 three bedroom houses together with a single commercial studio unit. Located within a Conservation area in North Islington, the practice was responsible for all stages of work including planning consent, construction information and contract administration. It is a complex site in terms of planning, ownership and construction.

 

The design seeks to provide, within the modest space available, a quiet enclave. We kept the traditional arrangement of buildings focussed around the mews road, which became a protected, car free cobbled courtyard. Each of the units has living space at first floor level opening onto small balconies, which overlook the courtyard. Although two of the units have been extended to create additional space the general scale and proportions of the mews has been retained.

 

We used a lovely handmade brick that matches the aged London stock bricks of the surrounding buildings and combined that with black painted steel windows, which reflect the industrial nature of the site’s previous use as a timber yard. The units have natural slate roofs and dark zinc detailing to the small projecting kitchen windows and vertical extensions. The existing granite cobbles were restored and relaid with small sensitive planted and sculptural interventions to create a pleasant communal courtyard setting for the residents.