Client Landhold Developments commissioned HUT to revisit and revise an existing planning permission for the brownfield site in south London with a scheme that focused more on resident amenity and occupier wellbeing, as well as enhancing connection to green space.

HUT’s façade redesign also increased windows by 50 per cent.

The housing, near Clapham South tube station and Clapham Common, is organised across three blocks: A, B and C. These offer a range of apartment types with every primary living space having a view over green space, whether that is a balcony or terrace garden.

The three buildings have stepped massing of between one and four storeys and accommodate over 30 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms.

The scheme also includes extensive greening of the site, designed in collaboration with Outerspace, through extending planted areas, wildflower green roofs and more refined pathways and street furniture.

The façades take their visual cues from the listed bandstand at Clapham Common, featuring decorative stonework and colonnades to entrances and balconies, along with fine brickwork detailing.

All balustrades are made of powder-coated steel in Moss Green, also referencing the bandstand. Grey buff brick, in Flemish bond, is inspired by the local Victorian and Edwardian buildings.

Inside, communal areas have neutral tones, using timber panelling and off-white accents.

Hit-and-miss brickwork has been used for screening in some areas to increase natural light within the dwellings while addressing overlooking issues.

Architect’s view

The finished building prioritises quality of living spaces, wellbeing, a strong connection to green areas, and opportunities for social interaction in expanded common areas. One of the main challenges was to deliver high levels of natural daylighting, and an outlook onsite that was heavily constrained by overlooking from neighbours. We devised a system of hit-and-miss brickwork which partially screened up to 50 per cent of the windows of habitable spaces, providing good levels of natural lighting while maintaining privacy. Unobscured windows were aligned with circulation routes to promote front-to-back views to the outside; screened sections protect private areas for sleeping and working.

The car park site before development

This practical approach to creating privacy means that residents get a direct connection with the outside without feeling exposed, which is rare in a busy city environment. Neighbours are also considered, as this avoids the perception of intense overlooking. Throughout the design, we have incorporated as many opportunities for increasing biodiversity, and as the residents of Clapham South settle in, we’ll see more urban gardens flourish on the balconies and terraces in what is now a quiet oasis, a complete transformation from its origins.
Todd Courtney, associate, HUT Architecture

 

Client’s view

HUT was recommended to us by our project manager and quantity surveyor, for whom the practice had brought great attention to detail and quality design to another project. We met and found our aspirations for timeless and understated, quality design aligned well.

With amendment applications [to a previous plan], HUT reconsidered and reimagined the design and the façade; this elevated the look and feel throughout, in turn providing additional value.

The main challenge was ensuring the quality of design continued through to delivery. HUT delivered this through the provision of additional levels of detail at the tender stage, alongside the client team’s determination to deliver the high quality we wanted.

At Landhold, we are proud of the finished building, which delivers high quality for our clients. The team at HUT has delivered this with determination and skill, and we’ve achieved our aspirations.
Matthew Ronson, planning and development director, Landhold Developments

 

Project data

Location Clapham, South London
Start on site January 2023
Completion date February 2025
Gross internal floor area 3,470m²
Form of contract or procurement route Design and Build
Construction cost Undisclosed
Architect HUT Architecture
Client Landhold Developments
Structural engineer AMTA ARG
M&E consultant Harley Haddow
Quantity surveyor Johnson Associates
Planning consultant Iceni
Fire engineer Semper
Landscape consultant Outerspace
Project manager Johnson Associates
CDM co-ordinator Peligro
Approved building inspector Sweco
Main contractor Kuropatwa
CAD software used Revit

Environmental performance data

All information taken from Block B, Flat 6 (two-bed, 77m²)

Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >2% Not calculated
Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >5% Not calculated
On-site energy generation Not calculated
Annual mains water consumption Not calculated
Airtightness at 50Pa 3.21 m³/h.m²
Heating and hot water load Hot water load: 1,947 kWh/yr, space heating 1,226 kWh/yr
Operational energy 74 kWh/m²/yr
Total energy load Not calculated
Overall area-weighted U-value Walls: 0.18 W/m²K, roof: 0.15 W/m²K
Predicted design life Not supplied
Embodied carbon Not calculated
Whole-life carbon Not calculated
Annual CO2 emissions 970 kgCO2eq/m²
Energy Performance Certificate rating B (87)