With the Sheldon Avenue House, London based firm Belsize Architects was tasked with designing a luxury property while conforming to plot size and local authority limitations. The result: a three-storied, light filled contemporary space designed to be respectful of its surrounding context. Contracted for 1,200,000 pounds, this seven bedroom pad is centered around a three-story cascading glass atrium which provides visitors with views of the surrounding landscape. The atrium also includes a glass floor which creates a visual link with the basement level pool beneath.

Sheldon Avenue is situated on a long plot, rather narrow in width, within the Heath Fringes Conservation Area in Highgate, London. The scheme marries the conflicting desire of the Client to maximise internal accommodation to include seven bedrooms, and that of the local authority, who were adamant that the new construction should not exceed the previous home dimensions.

The project is contemporary in nature, yet respects its surrounding context by integrating existing forms. Rather than introducing an entirely new architectural type to the street, the house provides instead the interface between the surrounding influences and the new architectural themes.

Based on the Client’s ambition to incorporate a central gathering area, the layout is a “U” shape, centred around a glazed, triple-height ‘cascading’ atrium. This allows ample daylight into the heart of the house, alongside unimpeded visual connections from all floors to the rear garden and the golf course beyond. The circulation spaces are arranged around the edge of the atrium, with the exception of the primary staircase and ‘bridge’, which sit as steel-and-glass elements within the surrounding solid surfaces.

The design is reminiscent of a series of cells arranged around a chapter house: the cells provide accommodation for retreat, contemplation, rest and sleep within small but comfortable spaces. The large atrium space is the ‘chapter house’: its circulation areas are places of encounter, and its lower levels are for gathering, eating and socializing.

The overall form is articulated by a ’stepped’ arrangement in section to create a succession of tiered levels, culminating in a basement swimming pool. The pool partially extends into the garden to an external sunken courtyard and, beyond, to the landscaped rear garden. This connection blurs the distinction between interior and exterior.

A large sheet of structural glass in the floor of the entrance area establishes a visual link with the swimming pool beneath. The views of the triple-height atrium unfolding from the entrance, together with the glass floor hinting at the level beneath, introduce the visitor to the simultaneous perception of the whole range of internal spaces.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 18th, 2009 at 6:31 am and is filed under Architecture Design. Tags: Belsize Architects, Contemporary house, golf, House Design in London, London, London Greater London, Luxury Architecture, Luxury Design, Luxury house in London, Modern House in London, Sheldon Avenue, Sheldon Avenue House, steel-and-glass elements, swimming, United Kingdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.