{"id":2755,"date":"2025-09-11T17:25:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T17:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/?p=2755"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:44:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:44:53","slug":"theres-so-much-greenery-at-this-london-home-youd-hardly-know-you-were-in-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/theres-so-much-greenery-at-this-london-home-youd-hardly-know-you-were-in-the-city\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s So Much Greenery at This London Home, You\u2019d Hardly Know You Were in the City"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The lot is hemmed in by neighboring courtyards that only enhance the open and airy residence\u2019s sense of remove.<\/p>\n

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Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Project Details:<\/h4>\n

Location: <\/b>London, United Kingdom<\/p>\n

Architect: <\/b>Studioshaw<\/a> \/ @studioshaw<\/a><\/p>\n

Footprint: <\/b>1,050 square feet<\/p>\n

Builder: <\/b>Lita Construction Ltd<\/a><\/p>\n

Structural Engineer: <\/b>HTS<\/a><\/p>\n

Landscape Design: <\/b>Charlie Hawkes<\/a><\/p>\n

Photographer: <\/b>James Brittain<\/a> \/ @jamesbrittainphotographs<\/a><\/p>\n

From the Architect: <\/b>“Architect Mark Shaw, founding director of Studioshaw, embarked on building his own home after a chance discovery of a disused MOT garage in Walthamstow, East London. Studioshaw entirely reconfigured previous planning consents to create a contemporary, light-filled home that responds to the site\u2019s unique character\u2014a pocket of land surrounded by Victorian terraced houses and gardens. The studio navigated a complex planning and consents process, including 27 party wall agreements.<\/i><\/p>\n

“The result is a carefully crafted retreat\u2014an oasis of calm within the city\u2014designed to maximize natural light and sun exposure, embrace nature, and create a connection between indoor and outdoor areas. The 1,050-square-foot home is organized around three courtyards, each with a distinct purpose. The main courtyard is oriented to capture maximum winter sunlight, while the other two are thoughtfully designed to enhance biodiversity and ecological variety. The greenery and planting scheme was devised in collaboration with gardener Charlie Hawkes.<\/i><\/p>\n

“The external spaces are divided into three distinct areas, beginning with a planted arrival corridor that guides visitors into the property. The pathway then curves inward, drawing the eye through the building towards the central courtyard. At the end of an east-west axis, a secluded outdoor bathroom provides a tranquil retreat, featuring a sunken bathtub, enveloped by lush, jungle-like greenery\u2014o\ufb00ering a striking contrast to the dense urban surroundings and creating a true escape from city life.<\/i><\/p>\n

“The neighboring Victorian houses and gardens influenced the form of the building, with its layout optimized to bring in daylight, particularly during winter months. Accessed via a shared driveway and enclosed by the rear gardens of neighboring properties, the house remains private while feeling open and airy. Internally, the space is highly zoned, providing dedicated areas for cooking, relaxing, and entertaining, all while framing views\u2014including those overlooking the nearby natural reserve of Walthamstow Marshes.<\/i><\/p>\n

“A restrained material and texture palette\u2014comprising fair-faced concrete blocks, timber, and anodized aluminum windows\u2014was chosen to minimize construction complexity and long-term maintenance. The home also integrates sustainable design principles, including passive ventilation measures to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter. An air source heat pump, paired with enhanced insulation and a whole-house heat-recovery ventilation system, further reduces energy demand, ensuring year-round comfort with minimal environmental impact.<\/i><\/p>\n

“The surrounding Victorian garden boundary walls were carefully reconstructed, seamlessly adapting to the building\u2019s structure, which consists of two partially sunken concrete volumes, topped by a lightweight timber roof. The subtle roof pitches allow for a dynamic play of natural light and carefully frame views of the sky while ensuring no overlooking of adjacent properties.”<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Photo: James Brittain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Photo: James Brittain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Photo: James Brittain<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

See the full story on Dwell.com: There\u2019s So Much Greenery at This London Home, You\u2019d Hardly Know You Were in the City<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lot is hemmed in by neighboring courtyards that only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2755"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2762,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions\/2762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}