Westbury Lane, Buckhurst Hill

Making use of a brownfield site in Buckhurst Hill, our five elegant three-bedroom houses, each with private gardens, a short walk from the Central Line, provide accessible, family living. The development repairs the street scene, with homes that sit comfortably within their context while expressing a confident contemporary character.

The design draws on familiar local elements – gables, dormers and contrasting brick tones – and filters them through a contemporary lens to achieve something altogether more thoughtful than derivative pattern-book housing. The massing is broken down by subtle surface articulations and tonal variation, with gabled upper levels set above a continuous garden wall of hit-and-miss brickwork. This ground-level treatment creates glimpses through the plots while visually uniting the terrace in a ribbon-like band.

We secured planning consent for the project and, although not retained for detailed design, we have continued a dialogue with the developer, helping them maintain of the quality original architectural vision in an achievable and economic way.