Mar House
Project: Mar House
Location: Barnet, London
Client: Old House Group Limited
Status: Planning Permission Granted
The brief
Mar House is an eight storey, mixed-use premises on Edgware Road comprising ground floor commercial units, 95 residential apartments and several live-work units. To increase the housing stock in the area and help forward-fund necessary refurbishment works, Mar House’s new owner and developer, Old House Group Limited, commissioned us to design a two-storey upwards extension.
Working collaboratively with the planning team, we utilised the new PD rights to create 43 new studio, one and two bedroom apartments across the building together with cycle and refuse storage provision.
Our approach
Our initial approach involved using Part 20, Class AA of the GPDO to add two storeys to Mar House, providing 34 new homes, each with private amenity space and secured cycle storage. After extensively analysing the building’s existing footprint, and specifically the double heighted commercial space, we were able to further maximise developable space by adding nine additional apartments at a new mezzanine level. This made a combined total of 43 new homes, an increase of almost 50%.
The neighbourhood is dense with a mix of residential, commercial and industrial properties so it was important for the design proposal to not only sit comfortably within its surroundings but also ensure the extension appears as a complementary and sympathetic continuation of the existing building.
Our design
The two-storey extension is seamlessly integrated with the existing building by extending the clearly defined vertical hierarchy, retaining the current rhythm of windows and doors on the elevations and continuing the facade treatment of alternating balconies. The material palette features white aluminium fascia to balconies, grey metal panelling, and a combination of grey aluminium/glass panel balustrading to ensure the new homes aesthetically match their predecessors. Brick column detailing helps delineate the private amenity space for the mezzanine level apartments.
Each home benefits from ample natural light and ventilation and either meets or exceeds the minimum space standards in London’s Housing Design Guide. Rooftop PV panels and a living green roof ensure the overall proposition for Mar House is a green and highly sustainable development.
The result
Mar House was approved in June 2021. It is believed to be one of the first and largest Part 20, Class AA approvals granted in London so has set an exciting new precedent.