Award winner for best house of three or more storeys
Commendation for best small housing development
Street cred
The factory-made precision modular timber post-and-beam houses made in Hartenfels, Germany, and transported to sites in the UK on lorries with skilled erectors who proceed to erect the shell of a house on a concrete foundation and make it weathertight in five days – or ten if it also has a basement - have become widely known since Huf Haus won the first of what proved to be several National HomeBuilder Design Awards five years ago in 2000.
Since then, Huf houses have appeared in countless newspapers and magazines, and eventually on Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs programme on Channel Four in 2004, which brought it to the attention of millions. That TV programme featured a house in Onslow Road, Burwood Park, that went on to earn a commendation for Best Interior Design in these awards last year.
This new Huf house has been built in the same road in Burwood Park, opposite its predecessor. Unlike most other Huf houses built in Britain, which have their posts and beams stained black, this one has its structural frame stained white inside and out. In fact, it is possible to have the timber stained any colour, such as brown or grey, but it could also be red, green or blue (if the local planners do not object).
Unbelievably, given the demand for new housing in London, the site of these three houses at the western end of Tonsley Place had stood empty since the Second World War, after enemy bombing destroyed the public house and a pair of Victorian houses that once stood on the site. It was a difficult but not impossible site to develop as three townhouses to complete the line of existing terraced houses, but Q Developments wanted to do so in a contemporary way.
The first issue to be resolved with the local planners, however, was not design but parking. It was agreed that to incorporate integral garages into the new houses would not be appropriate with the existing character of the road, and was not necessary given the proximity of bus, Tube and rail facilities providing easy access in and around London.
Contemporary design of the new houses was not an issue, since the neighbouring Victorian houses and post-war flats were not listed. There were concerns from some neighbours about the size and massing of the new properties, but these were met by reducing the size of the houses by 30 sq metres and setting them back to comply with the Building Research Establishment’s 45-degree approach for daylight to existing buildings.
Following public consultation and discussions with the planning authority, the massing to the rear of the properties was reduced and the proposed top-floor terraces were omitted. In the case of 9 Tonsley Place, it was agreed to set the rear extensions on the first and second floors away from the boundary with the existing house at 11 Tonsley Place.
The result of these design amendments is that 5 & 7 Tonsley Place are four-bedroom houses of 1,926 sq ft (with a fifth bedroom that can be used as a study), while 9 Tonsley Place has 1,851 sq ft. The houses were sold freehold at prices from £760,000.
The final design by architect Mark Fairhurst follows the line of the adjacent terraced houses by having a two-storey parapet line at the front and rear, and a set-back mansard roof design – as already existed at 21 Tonsley Place. The houses use a combination of traditional and contemporary materials, including concrete-piled foundations, white rendered high-density concrete walls, concrete floor planks, aluminium-framed windows with Pilkington K glazing, timber doors, and pre-patinated zinc roofs with standing seams.
Internally, all the services are hidden in ducts so as to give clean lines to the walls, with crisp details and no boxing-out to hide pipes. Low-energy recessed lighting throughout the houses, condensing boilers, proprietary insulated render systems, insulated roof systems and the use of sustainable materials ensure that these houses are energy-efficient and kind to the environment. The master bedroom suite has electric underfloor heating for extra comfort.
The use of recessed balconies with glass balustrades to the first-floor bedrooms at the front of the houses allows deep sun penetration in winter and provides shading in summer, thereby maximising passive solar energy and reducing heating costs. The balconies also create greater modelling along the main façade, giving more definition of light and shadow, and encouraging the occupants to introduce variety and colour by planting.
The deeper ground-floor living spaces have reinforced glass roofs, allowing daylight to penetrate deeper into the living and dining areas. Rooflights on the top floors over opentread staircases with glass balustrades on the upper floors bring daylight down throughout the houses. Full-height glass sliding doors open onto paved patio rear gardens.
The crisp detailing of these light and airy contemporary townhouses in a traditional London street resulted in the judges giving the award for Best House of Three or More Storeys to the show house, 5 Tonsley Place, and also a commendation for Best Small Housing Development this year to the three houses that so suitably fill a gap that had remained undeveloped for an astonishing 60 years.
HomeBuilder: Q DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
1 Square Rigger Row, Plantation Wharf, London SW11 3TZ
Tel 020 7223 1200 Fax 020 7223 1300
Contact: Sean Quinn, Managing Director
Email: sean@qdevelopments.com
Website: www.qdevelopments.com
Architects: MARK FAIRHURST ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Neckinger Mills, 162-164 Abbey Street, London SE1 2AN
Tel 020 7231 4111 Fax 020 7252 1383
Contact: Mark Fairhurst, Director
Email: info@mark-fairhurst.co.uk
Website: www.mark-fairhurst.co.uk
Photography: JENNIE BROWN (07773 816629)
and PAUL SMOOTHY (07970 910571)
