BRIEF:

Mixed use residential development

to redevelop the rear of the site to create a new family home, to upgrade and renovate the
buildings onto the street converting them into rental apartments and to retain and renovate
the existing ground floor business use.
use to 115, extending it into 117 (taking over a caf premises on a leasehold). The clients aim was to
minimise disruption to trade of the office during building work. The private house should offer almost 3
times the floor area of the existing, and the new apartments provide the maximum rental income
achievable from the site

Strong essential characteristics

Award judges liked the houses plan, its strong form and identity, and the
contrasting materials of its exterior. They said the end result was: imaginative and
interesting, making clever use of an awkward site. The house sits on a site in a
busy London street in a conservation area.
The complex form of the new structure also allows for the creation of private terraces on three levels

SITE
been in the same family ownership for a century and a half and contained several
buildings, but their size and condition would not meet the needs of the present
owner and their young family. The client therefore briefed architect Project Orange
to: replace and redevelop an existing building to the rear of the site as the new
family home; upgrade and renovate the buildings facing the street and convert
them to rental apartments; and retain and improve the existing ground floor
commercial premises. The new house was to provide almost three times the floor
area of the building it replaced.

DESIGN
orientated with an open aspect towards the park, replacing a previously blank wall
with large areas of glazing to optimise light and outlook while safeguarding privacy.
The depth is modulated with projecting and recessed balconies and to provide an immediate physical
connection.
Levels are manipulated to define zones but physical divisions are minimised. Living areas are free
flowing, but use changes of level and structural elements to delineate zones for sitting, eating, cooking
and working.

The complex form of the new structure also allows for the creation of private terraces on three levels. All
levels are linked by a dramatic series of stairs with outlooks over park, alley, terraces and roofscape.
Through the whole a central stair relates the individual rooms above to the primary living space and a
series of balconies and terraces provide external access at every opportunity. The house thus looks both
inward and out, creating a private and protected world within the city, but admitting light and air and
offering animation to the vicinity.

opening generous areas of glazing to benefit from long views and light penetration. The
glazing, together with the layering and depth of the faade, gives a spatial richness and light
to the interior as well as enhancing the adjoining public space. The park boundary therefore
becomes a cohesive enclosure, and, in being overlooked, the park becomes a far more welcoming,
vibrant place.

The living areas are raised to first floor level and link the expansive areas facing the park to
more intimate zones grouped around enclosed internal courtyards. These in turn flow
through to refurbished areas of the existing buildings fronting the street.
Despite its location immediately adjacent the park, the west-facing faade of the existing house was
entirely without windows, because it was originally terraced to a four storey warehouse that occupied the
park site before the war. The new house was re-orientated towards the park, giving a greater sense of
openness, space and light to the occupants.

A sense of security and protection is afforded by the ground floor brick plinth upon which the
new house is perched.
To retain a strong sense of security and domestic enclosure, the ground floor commercial storey is high,
raising the first floor primary living spaces well above physical or visual intrusion.
To increase the size of the house, the whole width of the site was exploited, instating a consistent built
boundary line to the park.

MATERIAL
Enclosure and openness are reflected in the materials of the envelope.
There are significant areas of glazing, some of which are partially screened by internal blinds or a film.
These windows were designed specifically for the project, with an exposed solid oak frame to the inside,
and a slick exterior treatment where the frame is covered by the external leaf of glass.
A sense of security and protection is given by the robust copper cladding that extends to the ground floor
level entrance. However, the shell does not form an impenetrable armour, and only partially wraps the

house. The remainder reflects a softer and more domestic aesthetic, being clad in hand split oak/timber
shakes and reclaimed brick.

A sense of security and protection is afforded by the ground floor brick plinth upon which the
new house is perched. The cubic forms of the new upper storeys are characterised by an
armature of sheet copper cladding from which emerge volumes finished in rustic oak
shakes, a reference to the Arcadian landscape of the park.
Building materials were selected to minimise environmental impact, including the specification of paint
and manufactured board products.

The project has been delivered with a clear environmental strategy, reducing energy use with a superinsulated envelope, integrating solar energy generation and specifying low impact building products. The
end result reflects the clients needs while preserving a valuable historical legacy of
continuing site occupation.
The construction design maximizes energy efficiency in its use of specialist insulation in the wall build-up
and thermally efficient glazing. Heating is by dual fuel solar / gas boiler that provides underfloor heating
and contributes to hot water requirements.

http://www.islington.gov.uk/services/planning/applications
www.e-architect.co.uk/london/whitecross-street
http://www.projectorange.com/projects/view/whitecross-street
http://britishhomesawards.co.uk/2009/115-117-whitecross-street-london/