Taper House

Our clients have enjoyed living in their local area for over 20 years and wish to remain part of the community. They would like to downsize and envisaged building a new house within the curtilage of their existing house. YSA were appointed to propose a scheme to create a new three bedroom dwelling with a strong visual connection to the surrounding woods and that has been a prime consideration throughout the design process.

The tapered plan was used to arrive at a rewarding and spatially integrated building with shifting geometries that surprise and delight when moving through the house. YSA maximised the height in the ground floor and provided views through to give a feeling of spaciousness. The first floor has views to Highgate Woods, which can be glimpsed between houses on the opposite side of the road. The success of the design relies on making a relatively small space feel open and airy. The glazed roof over the stairs and kitchen floods the ground floor with natural light while sliding doors can be swept away to give an unobstructed view of the garden.

YSA responded creatively to the constraints of the tapered, sloping site to create something special. The limited space made it important to take advantage of the extra width created by the angle of the boundary. However, the space was subject to restrictions from the planners which reduced how high and how close we could build along the boundary line. Our design responds to the unusual shape of the site while maximising the useable area. The double gable end retains the rhythm of the existing roof forms and the scale of the dwelling respects the existing massing.

The dwelling will commence on site in 2022.