Highgate Studios 53-79 Highgate Road London NW51TL
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Herringbone Houses
London
The design of these two houses has been conceived as a continuous herringbone patterned timber surface that weaves through the site to generate an architecture that is integrated with the wooded setting. These surfaces create exterior elements such as garden walls, terraces, facades and screens that also wrap around the interior spaces of the houses. The weaving of timber planes interspersed with glazing breaks up the massing of the buildings to create overall texture and variation. This approach will also generate an apparent lightness to the houses that are conceived as an assembly of planar elements as opposed to “punched” masonry. The two houses are a compact arrangement of two-storey entrance elements adjacent to three storey bedroom elements on each side of a double height entrance hall. The two-storey elements contain a 1st floor living room or piano nobile oriented to overlook the bowling green. The living rooms are recessed behind deep overhangs that provide shade, direct views to the south-east and shelter the ground floor entrance areas. Adjacent to these are the three storey volumes oriented north south, containing bedrooms and family rooms. These elements also have recessed glazing at the 2nd floor level to reduce solar gain, increase a sense of privacy for the occupants and create space for greenery at the buildings upper levels.