Innovative projects overcoming challenging plots Manipulating space in an inventive way is the key to success when designing a home on a small, sloping, awkwardly shaped or difficult-to-access site. Restricted urban plots offer opportunities for creative thinking, often prompting ingenious builds and bringing good design to historical neighbourhoods while revitalising city living. Whether going up a storey instead of building outwards, or demolishing and starting again, where there is a will there is usually a way.
WORDS JAYNE DOWLE
1 THREE IN ONE One family built a new house in their backyard for around £694,750. Homeowners Jeff, who is a construction manager, and Suzanne, an interior designer, have three teenage boys. The couple took advantage of a policy that allows spare urban space to be used for homes in Toronto, Canada. But sticking to the strict roof-height limit proved to be difficult.
The solution came in the form of a steel floor joist system. ‘It enables the ceilings to be 100mm higher on each level, leaving space to run the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system through the supports,’ says project architect Betsy Williamson.
The kitchen, dining and living space are on the top level of the three-storey, brick-built 214sqm house. The boys’ three bedrooms are on the ground floor, and a basement space includes Suzanne and Jeff’s bedroom, lit by a lightwell. The original house is two rental units, so three families live in what was once a single plot. (williamsonwilliamson.com)
2 MULTI-LAYER CONSTRUCTION A series of terraces mitigate the precipitous slope on which this home stands. The four-storey 185sqm house, on a plot in St Heliers, Auckland, New Zealand, was built for the architect’s retired parents, Wayne and Lyn, who are both in their seventies. With the land costing around £230,817, the technically complex construction cost around £625,175. Two dozen deep concrete piles, installed before the masonry block wall and timber pile foundations, stabilise the site. The mostly timber-frame house includes some steel posts and beams for support, all of which were hand-lifted into position.
‘A home on a steep slope is going to need steps to the different levels,’ says architect Mark Frazerhurst. ‘We saw this as a positive constraint, encouraging my parents to use them daily to stay fit.’
The first level includes the entrance, garage and storage. Above is the couple’s en-suite bedroom, while the open-plan living space is on the third level. On
