The homogenous red-brick facades and decorative tiled relief of this house tacked onto the end of a south-London terrace by 31/44 Architects reference details found on its older neighbours.
The London- and Amsterdam-based practice designed the Red House as a speculative project for developer Arrant Land, which had acquired the end-terrace lot and adjacent property in the East Dulwich area.
A garage previously located on the site was removed to make way for a three-bedroom house that follows the building line and height of the existing buildings.
The key difference between the neighbouring properties and the Red House is the new building’s entirely red-brick exterior.
This material is found in details on the facades of the older homes, but its exclusive use for the new house’s facades gives the building a modern feel.
“The house shares the visual language of the pattern-book brick Victorian houses with their ornamental arched entrances,” said the architects, “but it is designed in a contemporary idiom and confidently terminates the terrace with a highly distinct proposition.”
Other characteristic features from the terrace that are incorporated into the design include an upper-floor window and an arched opening in the facade.
In the Red House, the entrance is positioned to one side and a large window is inserted below the arch to bring natural light into a double-height hallway.
A pre-cast pigmented-concrete lintel that extends above the entrance and along the top of the boundary wall also supports the span of the arch, which is undecorated and surrounds a frameless window.
A section of the facade between the concrete lintel and the upper window features a relief pattern that recalls the tiled flooring found in the vestibules of many Victorian homes.
From the house’s entrance atrium, a short set of steps descends to an open kitchen and living area featuring a unifying black concrete floor.
Natural light floods into this space through windows lining two courtyards slotted in alongside the boundary wall at the rear and side of the property.
External red-brick walls are visible through the glazed surfaces and are incorporated into the living spaces in the form of a chimney stack that rises above the roofline.
The chimney connects with a wood-burning stove set into a solid concrete plinth that wraps around a corner of the rear terrace.
Two bedrooms and a bathroom are situated on the first floor, with a master bedroom suite located on the top floor. An oak staircase with white wooden balustrades that connects these levels is illuminated by a high-level window facing onto the street.
James Jeffries of 31/44 Architects previously designed a townhouse for his family in Amsterdam, featuring a grey brickwork facade and a large skylight that allows daylight to filter down through a central void.
Photography is by Rory Gardiner.
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