They Built a Home Their Two Daughters Can One Day Split Down the Middle—Literally

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Project Details:

Location: London, United Kingdom

Architect: Andrei Saltykov / @laceysaltykov_architects

Footprint: 3,000 square feet

Fit Out and External Works Contractor: MM Projects

Demolition and Railway Fence Contractor: Pace

Shell, Core, and Groundworks Contractor: Carlund

Structural Engineer: Foster Structures

Photographer: Will Pryce

From the Architect: "The client bought a garage in 2020 to develop as a family home to give their two teenage daughters more space to study and socialize. They had different size bedrooms in their old home—good for small children, but less equitable as they went into secondary education. An initial aspiration to create two properties here (one for each daughter) became a necessity due to the pandemic-induced inflation. The design was adapted to allow easy future conversion into two houses and make the project financially viable long-term. Other challenges were to house the client’s books and music collections in a flexible single display, and exhibit a collection of art and sentimental objects in a well-lit space without direct sunlight.

"The site is a triangle bound on two sides by typical suburban terraces (with a right of way to an adjacent substation) and the third by the MotspurPark train station platform. To create a view from the living space—something that was absent from the client’s previous home—it was decided to maximize the volume of the communal area and make it visually interesting. The conventional first-floor bedroom ‘block’ is placed along the railway and built with heavy block-work and oblique windows to reduce noise; it is planned so that no future change is required to any of the bathrooms and with symmetrical rooms for both children. Its dark color conceals the dust from the railway to reduce maintenance.

"The main triple-height living space sits at the front, following the site’s geometry. At the ground it has rounded corners to allow for intuitive circulation. Externally it is expressed as a bright horizontal band of colored mosaic, becoming a continuous library inside; it is separated from the floor and the roof by two bands of special reflective glass blocks. These provide daylight, reduce direct sunlight and prevent people from peering in.

"The multi-faceted roof has a fully visible structure inside and expressed waterproofing seams outside. It ‘sails’ over the bedrooms, providing a home office on the second floor with access to a generous south-facing roof sundeck. The communal spaces flow freely between all floors and provide ample opportunity to display art and play music, yet they are fully separated from the private bedrooms by two-door acoustic lobbies doubling up as discreet access to the bathrooms.

"In addition to the front communal garden and external dining deck, there are two small concealed rear gardens: one for the adults next to the kitchen/dining area, and one for the children next to their playroom that doubles as a guest bedroom. Timber railway sleepers used throughout in the landscaping design make a reference the railroad. All the building services and the structure are completely separate for each side of the house to allow for an easy split in the future."