Project No.1, Tonsley Place, Wandsworth

Tonsley Place is a residential scheme designed for a bomb damaged infill site in Wandsworth, London. Completed in 2004, the scheme comprises of three five-bedroom terrace houses and was the first commission for Mark Fairhurst Architects. The design’s contemporary, modern appearance takes inspiration from its Victorian street front and residential apartments to the south and west elevations.

 
This video shows the building within the context of the inner city while also revealing the relationship between the design’s contemporary appearance and character of the Victorian terraces within the surrounding area. On the front elevation a series of verandas at first floor level create a punctured grid on the white rendered façade. In contrast, the bedroom, store and WC are vertically expressed with timber cladding to the proportions of the Victorian terraces along the street.

The ground floor level is lowered to the rear to increase the volume of the living area and large sliding doors create a strong relationship with the exterior terrace and garden. To further enable an abundance of light into the interior spaces, larger dormer windows clad in patterned zinc sit within the mansard roofs. The skylight over the stairwell introduce natural daylight deep into the plan. This enables a deeper full width ground floor without the need for external light wells increasing the usable floor area.
The design succeeds in creating housing which manages to maximise light and space within a constrained site while also complementing the historic context; winning Best House in the National Home Builders Awards.

If you are looking to develop a site and require design advice, please contact Mark Fairhurst Architects on T: 020 7407 7070 or E: info@mark-fairhurst.co.uk