Track Record/Recent Wins

Outside London/ Country House in Taplow

Like many country estates this detached late Victorian house with wonderful views over the Thames Valley had been extended and modified from fairly modest beginnings and as a consequence, the rooms were not quite in the right place and the circulation was awkward. The solution involved some subtle tweaks to the layout; closing some openings and forming others; turning the servants’ staircase round and re-thinking the outdoor space around the house.

Typically in the past, kitchens used to be stuck away at the back of the house, so we swept away some smaller rooms and partitions and created a new family dining room and kitchen that links front and back with French doors out onto the terrace and those sweeping views.

HEAT obtained planning consent from South Bucks District Council for a side extension that consolidated many years’ accretion of outbuildings into a new staff flat.

Project 166

Won/01.06.13

Developer/Merton/New Build/Planning Appeal/ Appeal Success in Wimbledon

HEAT’s design for a new family house in Wimbledon was described as a “sensitive design solution” by the appeal inspector in a landmark decision this week. The inspector has overturned the decision of the London Borough of Merton to refuse permission for the demolition and rebuilding of this three storey house. The developer’s case was that the house was in such poor condition that it made a negative contribution to the Conservation Area and they proposed sensitively rebuilding the front facade to match the existing, whilst constructing a new contemporary house behind the facade. The inspector stated that “The appellants’ articulate and well-documented statements submitted with their applications present a convincing case as to why the original dwelling does not make a positive contribution to the CA.” The inspector “saw no evidence to demonstrate that the Council had been willing to enter into constructive dialogue after the applications had been submitted despite the voluminous and credible information it had received and requests to meet”, found that the Council’s behaviour was unreasonable and made a full award of costs on behalf of our clients.

Project 159

Won/01.02.13

Barnet/Developer/ New Home in North London

Our developer clients in North London had a triangular piece of land at the rear of one of their properties that was detached from the rest of the garden. HEAT have designed a stunning two-storey family home for this sensitive site. To reduce the impact of the development the volumes are broken up into two brick gabled volumes linked with a lightweight glazed bridge which provides all the circulation. The effect is to create a five bedroom 3000 sq ft house with integrated garage, but to make it appear less significant in the streetscape. A mature English oak in the garden has been retained, providing shading from the Southerly aspect in the summer.

Project 164

Won/25.01.13

Islington/ Islington House Transformed

HEAT have achieved success in a tricky planning application to rebuild a rear extension in a sensitive street in Islington; adding a floor to the rear extension and creating a full width extension at the lower level. This image shows the rear of the house before and after. The alterations required conservation area consent and consent for tree works from Islington Council and HEAT had to calculate the effect of the extension on the neighbours’ sunlight and daylighting. The house was completely transformed internally; where it had been narrow and dark, planes of glass bring in borrowed light and create a sense of space. The staircase was rebuilt so that the ceiling in the opened out basement could be flat. As project architect Michael Feinberg says “This was a tricky three dimensional jigsaw puzzle  requiring very careful detailing and accurate construction, but the end result is a transformation”.

Project 154

Won/07.05.12

Listed Building/Outside London/ Country House Extension

Sometimes it is only necessary to make small changes to a layout to unlock the plan. In this beautiful detached Regency house in Berkshire we were able to rearrange some of the circulation routes and internal walls and create a free flowing plan that brought every room into use and made it possible to come up with great furniture arrangements.

An internal lift and a glazed breakfast room extension completed the scheme which was granted planning consent by Wokingham Borough Council.

Project 151

Won/25.04.12

Developer/Kensington & Chelsea/ New Apartment Created from Nowhere

With the pressure on housing in London it makes sense to maximise the space available. HEAT have won planning consent for a new flat in an existing mansion block on High Street Kensington that has been created out of a collection of store rooms and utility rooms that were no longer required as plant size reduces. This spacious self-contained two bedroom flat with en-suite bathrooms, concealed lighting, built-in furniture and a solid oak front door seems to have appeared from nowhere and substantially enhances the value for the building freeholders.

Project 099

Won/09.01.12

Developer/Kensington & Chelsea/ The flat that came from nowhere

A large residential apartment block in Kensington had once had a live-in porter, but had changed to external staff years ago. In the lower ground floor, the porter’s flat had been mothballed and forgotten. We opened up this time capsule and combined it with redundant storage spaces to create a spacious and light two bedroom flat with its own self-contained entrance. HEAT obtained planning consent from Kensington and Chelsea for the conversion and brought a new apartment into being, apparently from nowhere!

Project 144

Won/15.02.11

Kensington & Chelsea/Permitted development/ Chelsea house underway

A new project is on site in Chelsea. Principally an internal makeover of a terraced house; all the alterations will be accomplished under permitted development. Internal walls are being removed in the basement to open the space up and allow a new kitchen and family room to be created. Upstairs a fireplace focal point is being created where a chimney breast had been removed.

Project 157

Won/15.10.10

Developer/Lambeth/ The Loughborough Hotel

Three Victorian pubs once faced each other across this busy intersection in Lambeth. The upper floors of the Loughborough Hotel had been converted to flats, however the bar remained, boarded up and untenanted. This area is certainly up and coming, but our drawings were still pinched from the front door step where we had left them when our back was turned. HEAT worked with surveyors Fleurets to obtain a valuable residential use for this building and bring 3000 sq ft of space back into use with an innovative contemporary design.

Project 138

Won/15.08.10

Westminster/ Marylebone Mews

In an elegant mews near Marylebone High Street HEAT have obtained planning consent to create a spacious basement and remodel the house completely creating a new kitchen and family room in the double height basement with five bedrooms upstairs all with en-suite bathrooms. At the top a new roof terrace was permitted. Outdoor amenity space is at a premium in this kind of property so this was a valuable addition to the scheme. Fitted furniture and interiors have been designed in detail to maximise the available space internally.

Project 110

Won/02.07.10