West Side Common is our first retrofit PassivHaus, designed in collaboration with clients deeply committed to sustainability. Their vision was not only to create an environmentally responsible and health-conscious home, but also to source materials and employ construction methods that positively impact the people and planet at every turn. All this without compromising on the aesthetic or functionality of their home. A refreshingly ambitious and challenging brief which the team embraced with gusto!
Originally a 1980’s executive home, planning permission had been granted by Merton Council to demolish the existing structure. However, after thorough consideration, the most environmentally sound approach was to retrofit and transform the existing house instead, significantly reducing the carbon footprint associated with demolition and new construction.
One of only nine refurbishments in London to be certified to the EnerPHit standard by the PassivHaus Institute, this house is an essay in how to create a unique, contemporary home that is beautiful inside and out whilst adhering to the highest possible environmental credentials.
EnerPHit Certified Retrofit PassivHaus
Conservation area
Front & rear extensions
Roof conversion
New build annexe & garage
Before - 279 sq m
After - 433 sq m
6 bedrooms
5 bathrooms
Architecture
Interior design
Project management
Furniture, accessories & styling
‘We feel that we have created a home that thoughtfully balances
beauty, functionality, and sustainability. We hope that our project will spur others to look at how they too can integrate sustainability principles into their own projects.’
The house has been extended to the rear and a new top floor added within the roof, featuring a dormer to the rear with inset balcony. A new gable addition to the front adds striking street presence and enables a triple-height atrium, flooding the hall with light and providing an unexpected view from the master bathroom down to the entrance hall.
At the front of the building a new two storey annexe was constructed on the footprint of the old damp garage. The two buildings are now physically connected via the overhanging green roof, unifying the structure to create a more impressive andsecure street presence.
The double garage on the ground floor of the annexe houses electric vehicles and their chargers, but also batteries to store some of the power the home’s 24 solar panels produce. Any additional excess is sold back to the grid.
As you step across the threshold of the home, shutting the enormous thermally sealed front door with a pleasing ‘thunk’, you enter a newly created 8m triple height atrium. With tantalising views through the lounge and dining room onto the sloping garden with expansive vista of the distant Epsom Downs, the open space creates an immediate sense of light and openness.
In the centre of the geometrically tiled hallway the eye is drawn to an antique table, a family heirloom that the client was keen to incorporate into the home. Too small for use in the main dining room, it was designed into the early stages of the interior scheme to take centre stage in the hallway, offering a play of old and new and successfully softening what is in other areas a very sharp contemporary home.
To connect all the key living areas from this one central hallway, the walls undulate around the space, gently curving to give access to the library and music room, living room, then curling round to divide the dining room and kitchen beyond. All without interrupting the views to the hills beyond.
The floor tiles act like a practical ‘rug’ to the hall, with a curved brass strip demarking them from the oak herringbone of the rest of the ground floor. Above, the radius of this curve subtly re-appears in the moulded ceiling and lighting detail, all of which plays host to the antique table at the centre.
Within the kitchen dining room, a glittering bar unit sets off suspended wine glasses and reeded glass with panels of white reeded glass, oak and black fluted panels all set within a black steel framework. This gives a sightline between the open plan dining and kitchen area, while zoning them sufficiently to make them distinct entities.
The kitchen island morphs at one end into a breakfast banquette, positioned to get the best views and upholstered in cork ‘snakeskin’ – perfect for more informal day today dining.
In the kitchen, a palette of rough-sawn oak, green linoleum, raw brass and concrete effect porcelain creates a calm and relaxing atmosphere with a sense of understated luxury.
Joinery is all constructed from either natural oak, recycled content particulate board or Formaldehyde free MDF and finished with low VOC glues and paints.
The tonal layering of natural textures and materiality ensures that this muted space has depth of interest and remains in keeping with the overall look and feel of rest of the ground floor.
Existing window openings were retained and enlarged to accommodate triple-glazed, thermally insulated Internorm windows and doors. However, the most dramatic transformation came from overcladding almost the entire building with pre-treated Siberian larch battens. Chosen for their durability and low maintenance, these battens weather uniformly, giving the home a consistent and refined appearance. Other timbers were considered, but they were ultimately dismissed on the grounds of quality and longevity compared to the Siberian larch.
With a breathable cork render used on the remaining parts of the exterior, the majority of the cladding acts as a carbon sink. Should the building ever need to be dismantled, the deconstruction techniques employed in its design ensure that the materials will be available for recycling and re-use.
This combination of external and internal insulation has reduced the building’s U-value to an impressive 0.1, approaching the lowest possible level before diminishing returns.
Where the existing building has been extended on the ground floor, we raised the ceiling height to create grander proportions and an enhanced sense of space. The timber ceiling joists have been left exposed, increasing the height further and adding texture and character to the extension. These white washed joists run the length of the building creating a visual connection right the way along between the kitchen, dining and living rooms.
The focal point of the living room is a full wall of black stained oak joinery. Which changes the feel in here to a dramatic cosy space for evening. This displays family items and disguises the TV. An electric, water vapour fireplace is incorporated into a brass lined alcove which enhances the glow of the artificial fire. As a gas free home, designed to achieve the highest possible air quality; candles, fires, and other air borne pollutants such as toxic glues, foams and standard household paints and varnishes were all avoided in the build and furniture specification.
As an air tight PassivHaus with almost no heating demand this gas free home uses an air source heat pump for hot water and any underfloor heating it may require in the coldest months. If anything, the challenge with this south facing home was ensuring it didn’t overheat. This risk was mitigated through thoughtfully designed external overhangs and hidden solar blinds that drop automatically on the warmest days.
At the top of the house the zinc clad dormer contains a spacious master suite with bathroom and walk in dressing room spanning the entire second floor. A long covered balcony now provides a terrace to step out onto to admire uninterrupted views over the Epsom Downs, while shading the interior from the solar glare.
Internally, the transformation to the original structure is no less impressive.
The air within the home is filtered via an MVHR system, with additional NOX filters.
There are no fitted carpets within the home to reduce allergens. On the upper floors a floating cork floor system has been used to circumvent the need for glues. This flooring is a fantastic thermal insulator and carbon sink.
In the master bathroom the cork tiles interplay with porcelain tiles, laid like a rug as on the ground floor, creating a wet area for the bath. Throughout the home many of the tiles are made from recycled content.
Wherever possible locally sourced materials were prioritised to reduce carbon emissions. The lighting design uses fittings which can be returned to the supplier for recycling/refurbishing/reuse at the end of their life.
The bathroom walls were finished in Tadelakt, an ancient Moroccan waterproof plaster made from natural materials and waxed with natural soap. The rest of the house was plastered with lime plaster and painted with low VOC paints that do not continue to leach toxins into the airborne environment.
West Side Common is a quiet triumph of sustainable design. From its green roof and bee-friendly planting to the meticulous choice of materials, this home demonstrates that environmental responsibility need not come at the expense of beauty or comfort. The result is an impressive, welcoming family home that seamlessly integrates sustainability into its very fabric.
‘We chose the Vawdrey House because we felt that they could take our original ideas to the next level and the result is unquestionably beyond our expectations.’
