Alex Upton Photography
Blenheim Terrace
Client:
Mount Capital
Location:
St John’s Wood, London
Project Size:
3 Townhouses, 1 Mews house
Project Types:
Residential, New built
Mount Capital is an experienced investor with a portfolio of properties in the St John’s Wood area. They purchased the site with planning consent for 3, new-build 5 storey 4-bedroom townhouses. The project is in an ideal location for family homes in the conservation area.
We were tasked with the technical design and construction of the consented properties, but also to improve and add value to the development. We saw an opportunity to both improve on the consented homes and add an additional mews house at the rear of the site. The main challenges of the project broke down into 2 phases:
- Phase 1 – Obtaining planning permission for proposed enhancements to the consented scheme without incurring any delays.
- Phase 2 – Obtaining planning permission for the new mews house at the rear of the site in a conservation area, which is generally resisted.
Mount Capital put their trust in our residential design and delivery skills. We were able to:
- Lead extensive negotiations and build a solid case for well-crafted and policy compliant creative design for both phases.
- Improve floor area of the consented townhouses by approximately 21% through planning amendment route.
- Secure planning consent for a 3 bedroom, 155sqm mews house at the rear of this sensitive site in the space for proposed garages, while maintaining 3 parking spaces on site.
The new townhouses blended into the existing street scene. The external material palette consists of a light buff coloured brick, reconstituted Portland stone, dark zinc and anthracite coloured mild steel. The material selection, combined with carefully considered detailing, complements the local architectural context, improving the visual amenity of the conservation area.
We provided much sought-after family homes. Generous family living spaces are arranged over lower levels, with the master suite, family and guest bedrooms located on the upper level, all connected by a feature central staircase. A light, contemporary palette was selected for the interiors, resulting in a simple, clean and well-lit aesthetic.
At the rear of the development, we translated historical mews house characteristics into a modern architectural style. We reintroduced typical mews features such as wide ground floor coach-doors with window fenestration above and included modern architectural language consistent with the town houses at the front of the site.
Sustainability has been a key consideration in the development. Specifically reducing the energy demand of the dwellings through improved fabric performance and passive design, as well as using on-site renewable energy measures throughout.
