MEWS HOUSE
LONDON W1N
Completion 1996

The three-storey house in central London has garages at ground floor level, and a top floor within a mansard roof, both of which were required by planning guidelines to replicate the 19th century building the house replaces. The design of the facade was also constrained by the local council's guide for mews building. The space between the party walls of the adjoining mews and to the rear is a 9m cube in volume, but in contrast to the tight compartmentation of most mews interiors, the house has an open and spacious feel.

This has been achieved by the open-plan arrangement
and by using the stairwell as a source of light and space.

The staircase itself is designed to be as light and delicate as possible, to allow natural light to penetrate from the top to the bottom of the building. The central hall and staircase are set between a single and a double garage, and two guest bedrooms and a shower are tucked neatly into the rear of the ground floor.

The first floor open-plan living space has four areas of activity-living, dining, TV/hi-fi space and kitchen, each distinctly defined by the shape of the plan.