Lightyard House

JaK Studio for private client
Contract value: £700,000 
GIA: 175m²
Cost per m²: £4,000

A residential conversion – from a Victorian terrace with ground-floor retail unit, two flats, rear goods yard and mews-access – presented a spatial conundrum: a hemmed-in site with no outward-facing windows. The street-facing elevation is a large brick wall, interrupted only by two recessed entrances. Inside, reflective glazing and mirrors maximize light; the entrance corridor, covered by a long, narrow roof light, develops into a dramatic double-height space. Every habitable room is arranged around the central atrium or a secondary lightwell, in a nod to traditional mews house layouts whilst creating a contemporary interior. Passers-by see very little, and the building’s historical legacy is maintained.

See the rest of the South London shortlist here. And all the RIBA Regional Awards shortlists here.