Waggon Road, Hadley Wood, Barnet

An uncompromisingly modern re-development on the edge of open countryside in Waggon Road, Hadley Wood, considered one of the top three suburbs in the UK. By a clever design, which captured the Town Planner's enthusiasm, we achieved permission where two previous applications and an appeal by others had failed, and for a much larger dwelling. Externally, luxurious natural materials satisfy the desire for richness, in a contemporary interpretation. Walls are faced in random dry stone cladding, with features in corten oxidised steel, exposed concrete and fumed oak. An extensive sliding glass wall is continuous across all principle ground floor rooms, all facing the views over the open countryside. The two storey entrance hall with glass bridge and glass floors brings natural light down through the interior to the basement pool, spa and leisure area, which opens to a sunken courtyard.

A dramatic 7 metre first floor cantilever enables the narrower first floor bedroom suite to align with the other houses in the street, whilst over-sailing the green belt to achieve the required number of bedrooms. The floor area of the cantilever matches the area of  former existing outbuildings in the greenbelt and was thus allowed by the planners. An over-sized stone-clad chimney makes a dramatic statement to the street elevation. The site layout keeps clear of the root area of a very large protected Oak tree on the road frontage. Externally, the garden and sunken courtyard are landscaped to maximise outside dining and relaxation areas with stone terraces and luxurious planting. The interiors use exposed concrete walls and columns, glass floors and screens, timber wall panels, tiled and pale wood floors to create a dramatic ultra-modern ambience. Project completed 2019 for an investor client and is now let.

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