Woodfield Avenue was developed as a typical 1920s suburban street consisting of rows of semi-detached houses. At the time the street was developed, the intention to build a house at 48 Woodfield Avenue was never realised and the plot remained an empty addition to the garden of 50 for nearly a century. Our client owned this property and asked if we could revive the missing house.
The new building derives the elements of its composition from the established street pattern and palette of materials but has reinterpreted these in a simplified form. The elevations are designed to respond to the heights and proportions of the neighbouring buildings. The materials used are characteristic of the wider area; a mix of clay tiles, white render and soft red brick. The composition of the facade retains the elements that give the surrounding buildings their domestic character; a recessed porch, a projecting box bay window, a chimney and a gable end. The intention is to give the new building its own character within the street. The forms adopted are simpler and the detailing more restrained.
From the outset, the client asked for a building that would possess very high thermal properties. The building is constructed using insulated concrete formwork, where expanded polystyrene blocks are fitted together on site and into which concrete is poured. This construction helps to achieve very high levels of thermal performance and airtightness. The completed building surpassed all of the airtightness and acoustic tests by a wide margin.
