Commendation for Best Small Housing Development
GARDEN COURT
Ventana, 61A Endell Street, Covent Garden, London WC2
On a backland site formerly occupied by a timber merchant's yard in the heart of Covent Garden, this new development of five apartments is a minor masterpiece of architectural geometry. New commercial or industrial uses were clearly limited by the difficulty of servicing such a site, so redevelopment for residential use was the logical alternative, but the site was barely big enough for one house, so making it an economically viable development was the challenge.
Behind a secure gateway, Ventana has five apartments, each of two or three bedrooms. These range in height from two to four storeys, and in size from a two-bedroom duplex of 950 sq ft that sold for £450,000, to a three-bedroom duplex penthouse of 1,583 sq ft that sold for £775,000 that sits on top of two duplex apartments and has its own staircase tower and roof terrace.
No room for lifts and no room for cars either, but who needs a car in central London? The nature of the backland site demanded that all apartments except the penthouse only have views into the hard-landscaped central courtyard, but the architectural detailing, the sculptural roof shapes and the bold colours make this small development a brilliant gem of its kind.
Homebuilder: THIRLSTONE HOMES (part of BERKELEY HOMES LIMITED)
Wyndham Court, 74 Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1HY
Tel 01932 576576
Fax 01932 576577
Website: www.berkeleyhomes.co.uk
Contact: Paul Vallone, Divisional Operations Director.
Email: paul.vallone@berkeleygroup.co.uk
Architects: ASSAEL ARCHITECTURE LIMITED
Studio 13, 50 Carnwath Road, London SW6 3EG
Tel 020 7736 7744
Fax 020 7736 6677
Website: www.assael.co.uk
Ontact: Rachelle Munsie, Marketing Manager.
Email: rachelle@assael.co.uk