ALMOND PLACE

In 2015, we entered the Sunday Times 'British Home Awards' Competition and were shortlisted. The aim was to come up with a home that could be a blueprint for future housing.

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We were featured in an article published in the Sunday Times:

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"If a Renaissance master had ever turned his hand to designing a garage, this might have been the result. Almond Place has garage doors inspired by the early work of Donato Bramante, the architect who drew up the plans for St Peter's Basilica, in Rome: exaggerated in size and paired with those of their neighbours, they form a broad, elegant arch, enhancing the streetscape rather than blighting it.

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Devised by the small Essex firm Rodney Black Design Studios, the scheme takes its name from the street plan: two stepped crescents, with 10 terraced houses each, face an almond-shaped public space. Drawing inspiration from the Regency crescents of Bath, it includes a wealth of classical details, including subtle pediments at the top of the facades. Even the rear is enlivened by ironwork roofs on the balconies. 

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Inside each house, a large living/dining room has french doors to the garden. Spiral stairs lead to the first-floor bedroom suite and study; there are two more bedrooms on the top floor, as well as a second study ot nursery.

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And for all the classic styling, these are contemporary green homes, with triple-glazed windows, hemp insulation and photovaltic tiles on the sunny side of the slate roof. Selling point: A classical solution to the modern problem of garage aesthetics.