Map House   Southwark, London

The scheme places a three  storey contemporary home  onto a plot previously occupied by a double garage. The site is located in a South London mews in the Camberwell Grove Conservation Area and is surrounded by a number of listed buildings.

Careful articulation of space maximises the relatively small footprint of the site. Surrounded on three sides by neighbouring properties  the building has only one main outlook. A large, automated bi-folding shutter folds back to reveal a sliding glass door into the living space and kitchen workshop. This draws an abundance of natural light into the building and creates views across the  garden opposite Using a reduced palette of hardwearing  materials, of reclaimed brick and a charred larch cladding on the ground floor blends the building neatly into its surroundings.   A series of rooflights and high level windows enhance  the design by providing additional light/ventilation while maintaining privacy from the surroundings.

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Morris Gardens   Wandsworth, London

SAM Architects have been appointed to design a two-storey contemporary home in the West Hill Road Conservation Area of Wandsworth in the rear garden of a large Victorian house. Close proximity to other dwellings and strict local planning policies which disallow rear garden developments has made for a challenging planning process.

The new three bedroom house is accessed directly from the road located north of the garden boundary. The stepped volume is derived from the position and canopies of two mature trees on site and the need to minimise any potential impact on neighbouring properties in terms of loss of daylight, outlook and privacy. The mass is set back from the street and a recess is introduced to the rear provide space for a front and a back garden. The building form is expressed in brick with slim, metal framed windows punched into the facade. Additional recesses on the upper floor contain discrete windows which maximise ingress of natural light while retaining privacy within such at constrained site.

Twin Town Houses   Southwark, London

Two new houses close to Elephant and Castle will replace an existing single storey volume which originally formed part of the Cotton Garden Estate.
The original building is one of a number of L-shaped bungalows centred around private walled gardens with no outward facing windows.

The tight-knit nature of the bungalows limited any potential for development without overlooking or overshadowing its counterparts. However, the close proximity to Renfrew Road created the unique opportunity to reverse the outlook and face out onto the street. The resulting two and three storey mass provides open plan living surrounding the garden on the ground floor while the bedrooms and bathrooms on the upper levels activate the street frontage.

The irregular fenestration offers generous apertures into the living and bedrooms, ‘folding over’ windows are inserted on top of the staircase further penetrating the houses with natural light. The external facade is made of reclaimed bricks and ties in the building with its context.

Braxfield Road   Lewisham, London

SAM Architects have been appointed to remodel and extend the ground floor of an existing victorian house to create a large open plan space with a visual connection to the garden.

The property is located in a typical south London victorian street and the rear facades of the houses are characterised by pitched roof projections shared between two houses.

The design complements the language of the existing rear extensions by adding a single height pitched volume, which reduces the impact towards the neighbouring properties and maximises the height of the central dining and kitchen space. The contemporary charred timber cladding distinguish the addition from its victorian neighbours. The volume is perforated with a large opening and several strategically placed rooflights offering views into the garden and the sky.

Grove Hill   Southwark, London

SAM Architects have been appointed to extend the ground floor and loft of a Victorian house in Camberwell for a client desiring a spacious free flowing and flexible living environment.

A lightweight glass volume is introduced on the ground floor comprised of crittall windows which span across the full width of the facade. Internally, the entire floor has been opened up to provide a generous, flexible space extending from the front to the back of the house with the kitchen concealed behind folding doors within a large timber unit.

The loft extension follows the same design language used on the ground floor and provides a bright new space that looks across the surrounding rooftops and gardens.