Digging
deep
on the
Miriam Levin and Miki Lentin have built a contemporary courtyard house on a tricky infill site in London, reducing its overall height by burying the lower storey into the ground. Story: Eleanor Wilde PICTURES: Crawford Architects
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New build
Award winner Light House recently won the Best Home award in the Haringey Design Awards and is described as “a cunningly planned new house partly dug into the ground, yet light and airy”.
“I
n many ways our naivety got us through this project,” laughs Miriam Levin. “We had no idea how hard finding a plot of land or building a house could be, otherwise we might never have tried, but with no experience or preconceived ideas we set out optimistically.” Miriam and her husband Miki Lentin had been living with their daughter Arielle, now four, in a small flat in Crouch End, and although they loved the area the couple wanted a second child and needed more space. Realising that their budget wouldn’t stretch to a three-bedroom house in the neighbourhood they decided to find some land and build a home instead. “It wasn’t a dream that we’d had for decades, more a random idea of Miki’s, and if we’d known how insane that idea was we would probably have thought twice about it,” admits Miriam. “We walked around the local streets looking for possible plots of land and then researched who owned these on the Land Registry.” Eight letters were sent out regarding potential plots, but Miriam and Miki received only one response. A developer had obtained planning permission to demolish four derelict lock-up garages and build a bungalow on an infill site in Crouch End, and he offered to sell the land to the couple. After several months of negotiating and waiting the developer agreed to accept £350,000 for the small plot, which stands in a conservation area at the end of a traditional Victorian terrace.
“This house is everything we ever wanted, and every last detail was chosen by us. We’re definitely never moving from here!” October 2012 SelfBuild&Design 29
Light work in the kitchen... The open-plan kitchen area was designed by Miki and supplied by Clover Kitchens. An additional rooflight was added at the last minute in this space.
Glass bricks light up the stairwell Glass bricks draw light into the stairwell, which is illuminated from above by simple bulbs suspended on red cords, made to Miki’s design by an electrician.
“We’d already admired a house designed by London architects Crawford Partnership, and decided to approach them about our project,” says Miki, Head of Communications at the British Library. “We knew that the replacement house couldn’t exceed the height of the garages on the site, and by sheer coincidence the practice specialises in building basements. They came up with a scheme for us even before we’d purchased the land.” The new house is set directly off the pavement, with rooms arranged around a glazed courtyard to bring natural light into the property while minimising windows onto the road and creating privacy for the family. The main open-plan living space, a study and the principal bedroom with en suite have been positioned on the ground floor, with a basement containing the family bathroom, a utility and two children’s rooms looking out onto a sunken lightwell. “We’re so glad that we decided to go with the idea of a basement to gain the extra space, because we would almost certainly have outgrown a single-storey house,” says Miriam. “My grandfather lived in a 1960s house in Highgate, built around a glazed courtyard, which I’d loved as a child. It seemed fitting that my own children would grow up in a similar courtyard house with their own private living space downstairs.” Planning permission for the design was granted in just eight weeks and the family sold their flat in December 2010. By now Miriam was almost nine months pregnant with daughter Eden,
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and was on maternity leave from her job with English Heritage. “Then I was told that I was being made redundant, which was completely unexpected and almost stopped us going ahead with the build,” she recalls. “I loved my job and was determined that we wouldn’t also lose the dream of building a house, so we decided to go ahead as planned and moved in to live with my dad and step-mum for the next 18 months.” Three weeks later Eden was born, and Miriam attended site meetings with the new baby in tow. Building contractor Rocklawn Construction proved to be an ideal choice for the project, and had been selected at the eleventh hour when the original builder unexpectedly increased the tendered quote by £40,000 just four days before work was due to begin on site. “They presumed that we would just agree to the increase, but we were building on a shoestring so we had to fire them and start again, which delayed everything by several months,” says Miriam. “We found Rocklawn through our quantity surveyor, who had worked with them before, and employing them was the best thing we did. They were absolutely superb and we trusted them totally.” The existing garages were demolished and finally work could begin on site in September 2011. “By then we’d already been living at my dad’s for nine months and virtually nothing had happened,” continues Miriam. “I thought it would take another year to build the house, but actually it was completed in just over seven months, which was a pleasant surprise.”
New build
Open-plan living and dining... Matching cabinets have been installed along one wall in the living/dining area, creating a link to the kitchen and providing useful toy storage and seating. Oak flooring from parquet flooring Three different John Lewis light fittings hang above the 1950s rosewood dining table. Sliding glass doors open onto the external courtyard, which Miki designed with built-in seating and garden lighting.
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Bedroom opens onto courtyard
The principal bedroom is positioned on the ground floor, with glass doors opening onto the courtyard. Brown wall tiles from Checkalow Tiles were chosen for the principal en suite bathroom, with sanitaryware from Aston Matthews.
Quirky bathroom The ground floor family bathroom has a quirkily angled door and window, with sanitaryware from Aston Matthews.
Seventy-five piles were sunk into the ground, and excavation for the basement was carried out with great care, as the plot is surrounded by houses on three sides. Passers-by were intrigued by the resulting pit. “They wondered if we were building a carpark or a swimming pool,” laughs Miriam. “Luckily our neighbours were lovely, and we were able to sort out party wall issues without any problem. The people behind us were building a conservatory just before we started on site, and we agreed that they could use our land for access. In return our builder was allowed to put his site hut in their garden and stored materials there, which made building on such a tight piece of land far easier.” The lower ground floor was constructed using tanked blockwork to prevent water ingress, with a pump system. At first floor level the rendered blockwork structure has minimal window openings facing the street and one side wall is clad with grey ceramic tiles, which have been used in other locations throughout the house and in the courtyard. “Our budget wouldn’t stretch to polished concrete floors, so grey tiles were the next best thing,” Miriam explains. Privacy was a major issue for a house which is set directly off the pavement, and obscured glass was installed in the front façade facing the street. Miriam was concerned about the large glass wall in the principal en suite, which faces onto the entrance drive, but the obscure glass has proved to be 100 per cent effective. Two rooflights – one above the living area and another above the kitchen – were inset into the flat roof, dropping additional light into this open plan space. When it came to choosing internal finishes Miriam’s love of ornate baroque interiors gave way to Miki’s preference for a simpler, 1950s-inspired look, which suits the living space perfectly. “Once we started hunting for furniture and lighting
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the whole house really came together,” says Miki, who envisaged simple bulbs on red cords above the staircase, with an eclectic mixture of light fittings above the dining table. “Some decisions were made really quickly when Eden was only a tiny baby and we were pretty sleep deprived,” continues Miriam. “Luckily we still liked everything by the time it was installed – apart from the yellow kitchen wall tiles which were probably our biggest mistake, and aren’t as acid and zingy as we’d imagined. Everyone stood looking at them shaking their heads.” Other decisions received a universal thumbs-up, however, including the engineered smoked oak flooring laid over underfloor heating, which was chosen from an enormous number of wood samples. The master en suite bathroom has been lined with boutique-style chocolate brown tiles, and the enormous walk-in shower is one of Miriam’s favourite features. But it is the study which provokes the biggest reaction. “I absolutely love having a designated room lined with books where I can work,” she states. The family have only been living in their new house for a few months but already they are adamant that this will be a home for life. “We didn’t realise just how much work a build would be, and we’ll never do it again,” says Miriam, who recently completed a university course in urban design and started a new job running community consultations in areas of regeneration. “This house is everything we ever wanted, and every last detail was chosen by us. We’re definitely never moving from here!”
The bottom line Miriam and Miki spent £365,000 building Light House, which is currently valued at in excess of £1 million.
New build
Study is a favourite… A tall door opens into the dedicated study, which is Miriam’s favourite room in the house and offers a quiet retreat. Original 1960s Ladderax shelving was found in Miriam’s father’s loft.
Home truths What was the high point of the project? Learning so much throughout the build was fascinating – from the piling through every stage of construction to the final fitting out. And demolishing the old garages on the site was very satisfying! What was the low point? Losing my job at the start of the project was stressful and then the piling was halted at the last minute because our neighbour’s house required underpinning before work could begin – which cost us an additional £4,000. What was your best buy? We bought several pieces of furniture on eBay, including the 1950s rosewood dining table for £300. Finding original 1960s Ladderax shelving in my dad’s loft was a bonus as we’d run out of money for built-in shelving. What was your biggest extravagance? The kitchen rooflight was a very last minute addition which cost £750 but was worth every penny. Overall we went about 10 per cent over budget, but fortunately we could cover that with our contingency fund.
Contacts
PROJECT Architect Crawford Partnership: www.crawfordpartnership.co.uk Building contractor Rocklawn Construction: 0208 427 4035 Structural Engineer Symmetrys: www.symmetrys.com Quantity surveying Leys Surveying: www.leyssurveyingltd.co.uk STRUCTURE Damp Proofing Harrison Preservation: www.harrisonpreservation.co.uk Piling Gmech: www.gemechltd.co.uk Windows, rooflights, sliding doors Alco Glass Systems: www.alcosystems.co.uk Joinery Mark Collett: www.markcollett.co.uk Roofers P&R Roofing: www.pandrroofing.com Electrics MLN Electrical Services: 07900 933 308 FIXTURES AND FITTINGS Kitchen Clover Kitchens: www.cloverkitchens.co.uk Tiling O’Shea Tiling: 0208 805 2081 Sanitaryware Aston Matthews: www.astonmatthews.co.uk Grey ceramic tiles Johnson Tiles: www.johnson-tiles.com Brown en suite tiles Checkalow: www.checkalow.co.uk Handmade Mexican yellow kitchen tiles Milagros: www.milagros.co.uk Oak flooring Parquet Flooring: www.parquet-flooring.co.uk Yellow and green carpets Tretford Carpets: www.tretford.com Lighting (dining table, living area pendant, master bedroom pendant) John Lewis: www.johnlewis.com Other lighting Arrow Electricals: www.arrowelectricals.co.uk
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