Residential scheme occupying a tight backland site in London.

Park Place is a design-led, sustainable and contextually driven residential scheme. Located within the London Borough of Ealing, to the east of St Mary’s Road, the site occupies a long, narrow plot nestled between back gardens within the Ealing Green Conservation Area. The surrounding context comprises of a mix of Victorian two-storey terraced houses and three-storey bay-fronted semi-detached houses, all of which were built towards the end of the 19th century with London stock brick. 

Claridge were appointed to enhance the character and appearance of an underwhelming and underperforming site, with the existing occupation of 21 single-storey garages. Reinvigorating the site with the construction of five well-designed homes, capable of making a positive urban contribution with associated ecological benefits. As well as providing positive architectural contribution to the area with the possibility of minimising incidents of anti-sociable behaviour. 

There were a number of challenges including being located in a low level residential neighbourhood, a backland site with the issues of overlooking neighbours and creating privacy whilst also feeling open and engaging with the community. We employed a variety of design strategies to mitigate these concerns. For example entrance niches were created along the northern facade in an effort to articulate the elevation and mediate the dynamic between semi-public and private.

Communication with local residents was imperative during this process as we wanted to ensure we created a development that responded to the locals needs. Particularly due to the unusual site, we needed to offer a positive relationship with the neighbouring buildings. We received an extensive response from the public consultation with very positive feedback from the community stating that the “proposal would enhance the area” and ultimately, offer a positive contribution to its context. Most notably the feedback eluded that the re-purposing of the site would discourage incidents of anti-sociable behaviour which it occasionally falls victim to, as well as general noise and disturbance, therefore enhancing the surrounding residents inhabitance.