HOME FROM HOME: A CO-HOUSING RESIDENTIAL PROJECT BLENDS CONTEMPORARY AND VERNACULAR DESIGN.

Located on a quiet residential road close to London’s Wandsworth High Street, 4-8 Hafer Road is a co-housing project designed by Peter Barber Architects. The development is the brainchild of a group of residents who lived in a 1950’s council block on the site. By degree the residents exercised their right-to-buy and acquired the freehold from the council. The scheme, which was won in competition and complies with the Mayor of London’s Housing Design Guide, provides the seven existing householders with larger apartments – in most cases to accommodate growing families. Eight additional ‘for sale’ apartments were incorporated to help fund the project.

‘The massing is bold and cubic’, explains the architect, ‘but the brickwork alludes to and connects with the vernacular’. ‘A soft rustic brick with complex varied tones was chosen for the facade. Although distinct from London stocks, it nevertheless has similar hues, which help tie the building to its urban context.