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Going Underground: Stunning Family Home In Highgate
With London property developers digging deep to maximize potential some commentators believe we are seeing a new golden age of basements in the capital. However, creating such projects present interesting challenges for developers. Citadel Design and Construction have recently completed this beautiful family home, designed in the style of the art and craft movement and backing onto Highgate Golf Club. They have created a stunning home with six bedrooms on the first and second floors and two large reception rooms with a large kitchen and breakfast area on the ground floor and a lift to all floors. And with prime residential space at such a premium in London, Citadel excavated below ground to house the swimming pool, entertainment room and gym in the basement, together with an ancillary plant room and utility room. The entire garden area was also lowered by 1.7m to provide a better view from the ground floor areas with the basement level eventually accounting for 35% of the floor space.
But going underground to create a dream basement meant the developers had to guard against the possible presence of underground streams in this area of north London with a thorough course of secant piling. Citadel were initially called in to demolish an existing house on the site and build the new home to an architect’s design. But after reviewing the brief they were able to suggest significant improvements to the original architect’s design, significantly increasing the living space and improving the lighting quality of the basement area by providing larger glazed areas to the swimming pool and entertainment room. They also provided larger access stairs to the basement from the garden area with staggered planter boxes for added excitement and interest and designed a glazed terrace area on the ground floor over the area just outside of the swimming pool. The development was led by Citadel Design and Construction Director Masoud Irani, who said the project was not without challenges.
