The London practice’s proposals for Barnet Council, providing 56 homes, were unanimously approved last week (13 December).
The first scheme involves the demolition of a timber warehouse on a 0.19ha plot at 3-7 Moxon Street in Chipping Barnet and refurbishment of a former tile warehouse on the same site to create 21 mews-style residences, including nine for shared ownership.
It will also provide 180m² of flexible employment floorspace for businesses. No part of the scheme is taller than two storeys.
Peter Barber Architects said its Moxon Street scheme uses a simple palette of materials such as rustic brick for lower-courtyard buildings and a white-rendered finish on façades.
‘Decorative brickwork parapets are proposed on the principal front elevations to soften the building typology,’ said the practice in planning documents.
About a mile south-west of Moxon Street the practice will also build 35 homes, 20 of which will be affordable, on a 0.71ha site once part of Whitings Hill Primary School.
This second scheme will provide several new buildings up to three storeys high.
The practice said the Whitings Hill scheme ‘enhances the existing area by adding discrete and delightful architecture, forming a picturesque backdrop to Whitings Road’.
Design techniques used to eliminate overlooking of adjacent owners include a ‘notched terrace’ typology whereby key windows look sideways into a courtyard or private gardens, with secondary glazing into the street, the practice said.
Planning officers praised the ‘inclusive design’ of the Whitings HIll scheme and concluded that it conformed with all relevant local and national policies.
Half the housing across the two site will be designated ‘affordable’.
https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/peter-barber-gets-the-ok-for-two-north-london-housing-schemes
