Project story · United Kingdom
A new house that learns its street
On a suburban street of brick houses, No.124 House takes its brick base from its neighbours and adds a frame, fins and a planted roof of its own.
By byJOOM · No.124 House · Residential
Picking up the neighbours' materials
The street is red-brick and orderly. No.124 House begins by picking up what its neighbours have: a brick base. From there, the design is free to be itself. It is a family house in brick, render and timber, and the brick at the bottom makes sure it belongs before it says anything new.
A frame that gives it identity
Above the base, a rendered frame, vertical timber fins and tall black-framed windows give the house its own identity. The elevation is composed, not eccentric: a tall, ordered front with strong verticals.
A quiet front door, an open back
The plan is a family one. There is a quiet front door on the street, an open kitchen and dining room that spill onto the garden, bedrooms above and a planted roof terrace. The front of the house is composed and private; the back opens widely. A long glazed wall ties the living space to the garden.
Planting on the roof
The roof is planted, which brings the green of the garden up to the sky. In the pictures the planting appears at the top of the house as well as in front, so the house reads as a garden building as much as a brick one.
Familiar brick, durable timber and a calm, ordered front that sits comfortably beside its neighbours.
Familiar and durable
Familiar brick, durable timber and a calm, ordered front sit comfortably beside the neighbours. The materials are not unusual. That is the point: the house depends on the quality of proportion and the honesty of its materials, and these are not qualities that go out of fashion.
A good neighbour
A new house in an established street has to earn its place by being polite. No.124 House does that with its base and then lets its upper storeys be modern. It is a quiet piece of design, and the neighbours will not mind it.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.