Mews House in Highgate, London by Russell Jones.

Designed by Russell Jones, this 68sqm compact 2-bedroom brick house with an enclosed 11sqm courtyard in Highgate, faces onto a quiet cobbled mews. The 90sqm site was formerly occupied by a disused garage and a derelict garden. The house sits amongst a patchwork of rear fenced-off gardens, garages, mews houses and ad-hoc rear ad-ons and a recently completed house, also by Russell Jones. The location, originally a decrepit backland area, a haven for crime and fly tipping, is now gradually developing into a secluded residential enclave.

The project was designed and developed with an economy of visual, spatial and structural means. The material palette and the design were kept intentionally simple. The volumes were handled in such a way as to make the most of a small site constrained by overlooking neighbours on most elevations, resulting in a building that has an overall sense of space and calm, infrequently seen in properties of this size in London. The careful selection and crafted use of materials create an essential quality that isn’t apparent in the materials themselves. The resulting home, although compact, feels spacious and special.

On the ground floor the covered main entrance provides direct access to an open plan living, kitchen and dining area. This area opens out onto a rear courtyard via floor to ceiling glazing which provides a physical and visual continuation of the space. The paving stones form a continuous surface from the front external entrance through the internal areas and out into the rear courtyard. The first floor is accessed via a single flight stair hovering beside the brick wall. On the first floor are 2 bedrooms, each with built-in storage, and a bathroom. Dormer and skylights are carefully positioned to bring daylight in to the interior.

In the courtyard a small niched area is incorporated into the brickwork wall for residents to place candles or herbs and plants to enliven the courtyard place. The quality of the brickwork has been enhanced through the use of a carefully selected mortar, using white cement, lime and washed river sand, and a subtle manipulation of the surface texture using a method known in Scandinavia as ‘Sækkeskuring’. A similar finish, known as ‘bagging’ was popular in Australia in the 1960s and 70s. This surface finish was appreciated as a way of creating a more monolithic Architecture, without losing the identity of each and every brick.