Faceted House 3

This ambitious proposal for a new house in Tooting, in south west London, supplants an existing 1960s dwelling, which in turn replaced an original Victorian house destroyed when the street was bombed during the War. Set in a conversation area, the challenge was to create a spacious modern dwelling on a narrow urban plot. The familiar template of the Victorian two storey house is abstracted and reconceptualised to create a compelling contemporary piece of residential architecture. Angular forms address the rear garden, giving the dwelling its name, Faceted House.

As well as the obvious formal analogies, the house also exhibits many facets in terms of function and layout. Taking advantage of the opportunity to redevelop the site, the house has a large basement containing a home cinema with a projection room, as well as a guest bedroom. A sculptural staircase, which also functions as a wine store, connects the various floors, the sensual gleam of bottles animating its vertical trajectory through the house.

The ground floor is devoted to the main living and dining space. Conceived as a fluid, open plan volume, this extends out to connect with the garden. Crisply detailed planes of clear glass blur the boundaries between inside and out. On the street side, a hardstanding for parking has a retractable fence for convenience and security.

Sleeping quarters are accommodated on the two upper floors, with an ensuite master bedroom at first floor level and children’s bedrooms on the topmost floor. The garden is landscaped in a coolly, minimalist manner and an amply proportioned, sun funnelling glazed roof detail, deliberately invites light into the open space, reinforcing the notion of the house as a modern idyll for the routines and pleasures of domestic life. [By Catherine Slessor*]

Contract Value Undisclosed
Location Tooting, London
Client Private
Date Current
Area 503.82m2
Design Team Paul McAneary Architects
Design Service From design concept to detailed design through to end of construction, interior design, lighting design, glazing design, landscape design,survey,building control, 3D visualisation