Kent-based contractor Newlyns has completed six bungalows to a Bell Phillips Architects design for the London Borough of Greenwich.
The model homes for older people have been constructed on one of six rundown garage sites in the south-east London borough. The sites have been identified for development to fulfil a growing need for single-storey dwellings for people over 60.
These six houses are the first to be completed in the £4.3m contract with the remaining 16 houses, based on the same design on the other five sites, due to complete later this year.
Clad in brick, it is the houses’ zinc roofs, which pitch up at the back and front, that give the terrace of wheelchair-accessible bungalows its character. On the street side, a glazed lantern allows light into the dining spaces, while at the rear the raised roof provides more height in the bedrooms.
As well as increasing light and space internally the raised roof gives the bungalows the appearance of two-storey dwellings that gives them street presence, helping them to sit comfortably within their urban context characterised by two-storey houses and three- and four-storey flats.
Each 90 sq m house has two bedrooms, which means that one can be used as an office or a guest room for relatives or carers, making the homes practical and adaptable for residents.
The houses blend in to the urban context
The pitched roofs give the terrace its character
A glazed lantern allows light into dining spaces
