Compton Avenue

Located in the London Borough of Islington, this residential development of eight mews houses is built on the site of a previously derelict light-industrial unit.

As a heavily overlooked plot positioned next to the grade I listed Union Chapel, the scheme had to respond sensitively to its surroundings. The foundations required a design that avoided the exclusion zone of a London underground tunnel running directly beneath part of the site. In addition, a pile foundation design was utilised to prevent damage to protected tree roots extending from the rear gardens of Compton Terrace behind. The overall massing of the scheme was arranged to avoid the overhanging canopies of these trees, whilst presenting as a continuation to the existing terrace building line of the street, when approached from Compton Avenue.

Each house is carefully arranged around its own central courtyard space to both prevent overlooking with the properties behind, and to bring natural daylight down into the heart of the houses. The varying conditions and restrictions present across the site led to individual properties responding in different ways and led to a range of different property sizes incorporating a variety of layouts. This element of uniqueness was extended into an assortment of interior material palettes, varying across the houses.

Location: Islington, London
Year: 2012
Area: 1175m²