The idea for this new home was to maximize the connection between the interiors and the garden while responding sensitively to the surrounding historic context. Nestled at the end of a quiet residential street, the design echoes the surrounding vernacular context by adopting sloping roofs and articulating a characterful external silhouette.
The site lies tucked away at the end of a quiet residential street in Wimbledon, surrounded by Edwardian homes with traditional detailing. The building’s mass is sub-divided in three blocks of similar scale and form to the surrounding houses. A sheltered gap between two of the blocks leads to a hall-like social space orientated both to the rear garden and an intimate courtyard along the northern boundary wall. This light-filled double-height room serves as the heart of the house for shared meals and family gatherings.
Another block contains open plan living on ground floor and the principal bedroom suite above. Picture windows flood the ground floor with light, framing garden views and fostering a seamless indoor-outdoor connection.
More conventional cellular roomsare situated in the third block, with ancillary functions on ground floor and bedrooms above. Each bedroom has a unique character, shaped by its orientation and contrasting outlook to the surrounding context.
Internally, the whitewashed walls, timber windows and polished concrete floors create a calm and neutral backdrop against the leafy surroundings. The light oak stair and flooring add a touch of warmth to the house.
The exterior of the building is made of water struck brickworkandlime mortar,topped with cast stone copings to emphasize the buildings monolithic, sculptural quality. Behind the craftedexterior brick skin, the building’s structure consists of a timber frame, chosen as a means of reducing embodied carbon and improving the envelope’s thermal performance.
Engineered to operate with significantly lower energy consumption than a standard home, the house is equipped with a ground-source heat pump and whole-house heat recovery ventilation.
Team:
Architects: Erbar Mattes Architects - Demian Erbar, Holger Mattes
Services consultant: Integration
Structural engineer: Morph Structures
Cost Consultant: Stockdale
Landscape design: Hamilton Cody
Photography: Ståle Eriksen
