Triangle House

The Design Brief:

Rather than seeking to maximise the potential floorspace of the plot – by extending upwards and or downwards, as other proposed schemes had tried – the self-building couple (one of whom is the Architect) used the existing structures to provide a single storey house that is space efficient, multifunctional, low cost, with minimal impact on the local environment.

The Triangle House was envisioned to be deliberately ambiguous in terms of its identity. From the street, it would still appear as a workshop, and internally it would try to defy both domestic and commercial conventions. The client and architect took inspiration from their previous experiences occupying shared 'live-work' warehouses in East London.

The ambition was to create a space that would expand the range of activities they could do at home, such as working from home, hosting gatherings, hosting formal meetings, making objects, musical rehearsal, musical performance and hopefully more.

Planning:

The building required planning permission for a change of use from its former commercial use to the proposed residential use. A previous scheme by another developer for a three-storey, two unit residential scheme had been refused largely on the basis of its size and character. The plot shares a boundary with three terraced houses to the rear whose back walls fall within close proximity. Any addition in height would limit the neighbour’s outlook and quality of amenity.

The proposal instead allowed for slightly lifting the parapet height of the existing building, excavating new slabs to form some additional internal ceiling height and using the existing openings onto the street as entrances and windows respectively. Planning officers were concerned about the direct adjacency of the living space at ground floor, to the street level – the design response was to create the ‘inset bay window’ detail, pushing the window back from the street slightly to allow room for a ground planter filled with bamboo creating screening and ‘defensible space’.

The Building's History:

The triangular plot had originally been the coach house connected with the house next door, built as part of a comprehensive development across the street in the late 19th century. It would likely have included a stable for a coach and horse. Excavation during construction revealed a large ramp connecting the rear of the house next door, with original clay 'stable' blocks lining the floors.

It is understood that the building had also been used as a small home workshop for the production of children's toys during the first half of the 20th century.

In the mid 20th century, the house and coachhouse were purchased by the local borough council, along with the other houses in the street with an ambition to renovate and improve the properties that had fallen into disrepair. At this stage it seems the triangular plot was separated from the house next door, its ramped area filled in and the ori