Gap House

Located within a conservation area in West London the four bedroom house occupies the gap between two villas that was formerly the side alley and rear garden of an adjoining property.

The building is arranged to maximise light and space to each habitable room within the constraints of a tight and awkward site.

Smaller bedrooms are located to the front of the house facing the street, while the rear of the building is arranged in a cascading configuration. Storage and wet rooms occupy parts of the plan where natural light is unavailable.

The rear of the site features a courtyard which brings light into the ground floor reception space, while a central twisting timber staircase held as a piece of sculpture off the walls bring daylight deep into the centre of the property.

The house, which incorporates a number of green strategies including passive solar gain, high levels of insulation, a ground coupled heat pump and rain water harvesting, was designed to use approximately 30 per cent of the energy of a typical house built to current building regulations.