152 High Road

Chigwell, Essex

Replacing a single family house on the High Road, Chigwell, at first glance, our proposal appears to be a single modern family home. However, it accommodates 5 individual luxury apartments. At a planning appeal, we also received permission to build a further 4 flats in a modernist-inspired building to the rear of the site, where the previous house's tennis court once stood. Both buildings back on to Chigwell Golf Course, so our design driver was to prioritise the views across the course within the Green Belt.

Overview

This L-shaped residential plot provided a huge development opportunity, with the creation of not one but two high quality apartment buildings.

We designed the street-facing building to have a strong aesthetic while maintaining a careful link to its neighbours, thanks to its scale, form and sensitive choice of materials. The rear of the property is more contemporary in appearance, featuring high levels of glazing, designed to make the most of the magnificent views.

The 5 luxury apartments sit over 3 floors, each one featuring generous levels of internal and external space. On the top floor, the 3-bedroom penthouse features balconies with beautiful views of the adjoining golf course.

An additional apartment block of 4 luxury apartments is accessed from a private driveway adjacent to the front site.

This design is visually light and pavilion-like in its design, the white-rendered building represents a stylistic break from the houses on the High Road, responding simply to the Green Belt land beyond.

Traditional elements, such as the brick corbelling detailing and hipped roofs with gabled ends, echo characteristics of the surrounding properties
Large window apertures and balconies to the rear of the building take advantage of stunning views
Rear balconies are inset, to ensure privacy from surrounding properties and prevent overlooking
In white render and with ample glazing, it is best described as ‘open architecture’ – light and airy, with a nod to the work of Modernist architect Richard Meier
The building is nestled into the land and has a flat roof. This boosts its modern credentials, but also makes it less obtrusive
Glazing is concentrated on the golf-course side to avoid overlooking issues and make the most of views
Planning was initially granted for a single dwelling, but a later application to incorporate 4 luxury apartments was eventually won at appeal

"Excellent design that works with existing land levels and a clever planning strategy – the project went through several applications before the final scheme met with success – delivering the site to its true potential. I can't wait to see it all finished in 2019". Melanie Clear, Founder

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