Metropolitan Workshop has completed 24 new homes at Farmstead Road in Lewisham, south-east London, for Phoenix Community Housing, a not-for-profit housing association. Designed to the Passivhaus ‘Low Energy Building Standard’, the scheme supports affordable housing targets set by the London Borough of Lewisham and the Mayor of London while aiming to reduce fuel poverty for residents.
Affordable housing within the Bellingham estate
Reflecting the area’s Arts and Crafts heritage, the development provides a mix of affordable housing, including eighteen two- and three-bedroom homes available at London Affordable Rent and six two- and three-bedroom shared ownership homes. Located within the historic Bellingham estate, the project occupies a 0.29-hectare corner site adjoining a railway line.
Originally planned by the London County Council in the post-First World War era, the Bellingham estate was shaped by Garden City and Arts and Crafts movements. These influences informed the design approach for the new homes, which respond to the scale, material character, and streetscape of the surrounding neighbourhood.
Phoenix Community Housing commissioned the scheme as part of its ongoing investment in housing and community infrastructure across Lewisham.
Responding to the existing streetscape
The development is organised around two gatehouse buildings at the front of the site, which frame a new route towards a larger apartment building positioned to the rear. Replacing an existing two-storey terrace, the gatehouse dwellings maintain a frontage and scale consistent with neighbouring houses along Farmstead Road, while drawing on the corner and end-of-terrace typologies found throughout the Bellingham estate.
The arched communal entrance sits between the gatehouse buildings, framed by two sawtooth brick ‘chimneys’, one containing the lift and the other accommodating service risers. Across the development, the material palette incorporates pantile-clad mansards, curved corners, arches, sawtooth brickwork, glazed brick, and orange metal detailing.
Butterfly plan and massing
At the rear of the site, the apartment building adopts a butterfly-shaped plan organised around a central open staircase. Its kinked geometry creates an inward-facing arrangement that reduces overlooking into neighbouring properties while allowing for dual- and triple-aspect homes with increased access to daylight.
The massing of the three-storey buildings has been shaped to maintain the low-rise character of the surrounding estate when viewed from the street, responding to the geometric layout and established scale of the wider neighbourhood.
Passivhaus approach
Farmstead Road was designed to meet the Passivhaus standard through a fabric-first approach, combining highly insulated cavity masonry walls with an airtight building envelope to reduce heat loss and energy demand.
The development also incorporates a range of low-energy building systems, including high-performance windows, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, air-source heat pumps, and biodiverse roof areas combined with solar installations.
Tom Mitchell, Partner at Metropolitan Workshop, said: “The completion of Farmstead Road represents a significant milestone in Phoenix Community Housing’s mission to provide high-quality, affordable homes in Lewisham. This project reflects Metropolitan Workshop’s dedication to contextually sensitive and socially responsible architecture that enriches local communities.”
