London Modern Homes
Artist's Courtyard
Combining development on a small brownfield site with exemplary environmental performance, this project creates an accessible retirement home for our client on an exceptionally tight and challenging urban site.
Designed to Passivhaus standards, the house dramatically reduces operational energy demand and long term living costs through a fabric first approach. Rather than relying on conventional heating systems and ongoing energy consumption, the design prioritises high performance insulation, airtight construction and carefully considered passive design strategies.
The result is a home that retains warmth during winter months while remaining naturally cool and comfortable in summer through controlled ventilation and airflow. Alongside its environmental credentials, the project demonstrates how compact and constrained sites can still deliver generous, healthy and future resilient homes.
The focus on air quality creates a comfortable internal environment which has a positive effect on the health and wellbeing of occupants. Our design references the industrial warehouses that the scheme replaces, pairing strong forms, brickwork and perforated Corten steel.
Constrained Site
The project is located on a tight infill site within a sensitive residential setting, presenting a number of significant design and construction challenges. The previous structure on the site was a small former garage, later converted into a gym, with the plot backing directly onto a cinema, introducing additional acoustic constraints.
Due to the constrained nature of the site and the surrounding residential context, the scale and massing of the proposal required careful consideration to avoid overlooking and blocking neighbouring views. The development is also subject to a range of planning restrictions, all of which needed to be thoughtfully addressed within the design.
In addition, noise associated with the surrounding urban environment required particular attention to ensure a high level of comfort and amenity for both future occupants and neighbouring properties.
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