Concealed from the street, the site comprised of a narrow slot of land to the back of 4 storey Victorian semi-detached villas along Hermon Hill and bordered by the central line underground railway. Whilst several options including a terraced row were considered at design concept stage, it was felt that larger family houses with secure amenity space was the most suitable option to proceed with. The houses were intended to be monolithic and contemporary as a contrast to the decorative detailing of the Victorian architecture, but also reflective of a vernacular architecture in the choice of cladding material. 

Due to the physical site constraints the proposed houses were designed to be structured in CLT for both speed and suitability of construction in addition to the high thermal performance needed for the building envelope. The cladding rain screen of charred timber planks lent the houses a distinctive aesthetic and in cladding the solid screening walls of the walled gardens in the same material, the houses were expressed as individual entities, whilst being conceived together as a considered and singular form.