The brief was to develop a scheme for a live/work development of a garage plot in East London. The aim was that it should blend into the streetscape which predominantly comprised brick buildings.
The resulting scheme for the live/work development was designed in collaboration with Cassion Castle Architects. Due to the very narrow street with footfall along the façade, we created an unobtrusive exterior that allowed light to enter the space whilst maintaining privacy. The external envelope seamlessly continues the brickwork of the adjacent buildings. On second glance, however, a subtle difference emerges: the bricks have been laid in a discrete pattern with intermittent gaps. On entering the front door, you are surprised to discover that you are in a 'vertical courtyard' open to the sky, where a glass roof maximises the light from the south facing side of the building. The scattered gaps in the brickwork become pinpoints of light, and when viewed from the street at night, they glow like a constellation.
The Garage Plot has been exhibited at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).