The London-based De Rosee Sa architecture house designed the home for a customer who lived across the road from the old wooden storage yard. He bought the site located between the terraces and a row of 16 garages to avoid being overdeveloped.
The architects were challenged to design an online residence with strict planning restrictions stipulating that the structure matches the height of the former single storey shed.
It was also not possible to create openings in the two boundaries of 37 meters in length since they are walls of party with the neighboring structures.
Instead, three internal courtyards and a series of skylights are used to bring lots of natural light to the long and slender residence aptly named Courtyard House.
These patios also separate the plan into three pieces: a combined kitchen and dining room, a living room and a two-story bedroom block created by digging down to form a basement.
Crittall style glazing and doors - a manufacturer of industrial windows that became popular in the 1920s but enjoyed a revival - enclose the patios, allowing views to and from outdoor space.
"The most satisfying aspects of the project are the superior light that pours into the interiors and the long views across the courtyards," said study co-founder Max de Rosee.
Once inside, you forget that this house is in London.
Doors can also be opened in warm weather to allow fresh air in the house of paved granite patios.
The living room opens directly to the front garden on one side and a patio on the other, while additional natural light is provided by two roof lights.
The patio links the living room with the combined kitchen and dining area beyond, which in turn overlooks a sunken patio located between the block of two-story bedrooms.
Red cedar slats line the walls of the patios as a reference to the old site use as a wood storage yard and a contrast to the minimal interiors, which have clean white walls and patterned floor patterned on tang.
The red dye cedar liner continues inside to surround two small boxes that contain a study niche, laundry room and a toilet.
"We wanted to contrast the white walls and ceiling with some strong materials, so we spent a considerable amount of time considering the detail of western red cedar slats and granite cracks on patio surfaces," Rosee said.
Glazed doors bring light into the two bedrooms, which are set one above the other next to their bathrooms.
A third patio, which is much smaller than the other two, also cuts between bedrooms and bathrooms to provide more lighting.
De Rosee Sa was founded in 2007 by Max de Rosee and Claire Sa and is based in North London Kensington.
