When software engineer Andrew Eland and his family returned to London after a five-year stint in San Francisco, USA, they were faced with a property dilemma.
‘We had grown used to the modern, light-filled and open-plan spaces of Californian homes,’ Andrew explains.
‘When we were house-hunting over here, we realised that it was largely period properties, with multiple smaller rooms, where we were searching.
‘So we decided to buy something run down, and then convert it into a home with a layout that we really wanted to live in.’
Specifically looking for a property that hadn’t been updated for years — so they could make it truly their own without wastefully ripping out recent improvements — they also wanted a home within walking distance of their children’s school, one with no bay windows (they are not keen on them, aesthetically) and without a lower-ground floor (‘too dark’).
Settling on a few streets in a Kentish Town conservation area, in NW5, they found the perfect Victorian five-bedroom semi on leafy Lawford Road, and bought it for around £2million back in 2017.
Last updated in the 1960s, the house was in a state of parlous disrepair, with now-shabby carpets, lino and Bakelite fittings.
‘The ground floor had been used as a form of self-contained apartment, and the rest of the home neglected,’ Andrew says. ‘There were huge gaping holes in the floor and it hadn’t been properly heated, so it was completely uninhabitable for a family.’
With energy efficiency one of their top goals, the Elands had their work cut out.
Four years on, the home’s traditional villa-like façade — ‘complete with patches of yellow brickwork used to repair it after bomb damage during the Blitz — belies the extraordinary light, open and contemporary interiors you’ll find inside.
Created to meet the low-energy Passivhaus EnerPHit standard for retrofitted properties — a variation on the rigorously eco-friendly design and construction principles developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany — the home now features an ingenious, entirely new, highly insulated timber frame within the existing brick shell — dubbed ‘a building within a building’ — and zinc-clad extensions at the roof and rear.
It helps, of course, to have an architect brother.
‘He was our first choice, naturally,’ says Andrew of sibling David, a director of Hackney-based OEB Architects, ‘but we weren’t sure he would have time when we first approached him. Luckily, he did, and we ended up working really well together.’
The brief they gave David, outside the requisite eco features, was that it should be a truly flexible, adaptable four-bedroom family home, with the floor levels remaining unchanged, but the interiors completely transformed.
Andrew, his teacher wife Pascale and their two children rented nearby while their dream home was created.
Entry through a revamped side return, in which to stash the messy paraphernalia of family life, leads on to the ground-floor, open-plan kitchen, living and dining space, in turn opening onto the landscaped garden with immense architect-designed concrete seating area.
Solid oak flooring by Dinesen is used throughout, and a new staircase, with a white, sinuous ribbon-style balustrade runs continuously up through the full height of the house.
On the first floor there are two bedrooms and the family bathroom, and upstairs the main bedroom suite and a spare bedroom.
That all-important home study is located in the zinc rooftop extension, with its plywood structure exposed, giving it an attic-like feel.
Rooms are defined by a series of 900mm deep storage walls placed orthogonally across the plan, concealing all the built-in functions of the house, including the kitchen and WCs.
Open them up, and the warm plywood reveals brightly coloured interior elements — a lime green desk, say, or yellow railing in a cupboard.
A raft of eco home experts and products were brought in to ensure extremely high levels of insulation and airtightness, to create a constant temperature throughout the home no matter the weather outside.
Low-energy specialist builders Bow Tie Construction were later nominated for an NLA Don’t Move, Improve! award for their work here, with glazing and high-performance sash windows provided by Sky-Frame, Cantifix, Green Building Store and OM Double Glazing.
Andrew was sanguine about the inevitable hiccups during such a complicated project, which he says took 18 months from purchase to completion and cost around £800,000.
‘I have built a lot of large software products, and I understand that when things are big and complicated, they don’t always go smoothly,’ he says.
There were some truly nerve-wracking moments, however.
‘One of the most critical parts of meeting Passivhaus standards is ensuring the windows are completely airtight and the home properly insulated, and many of the components are only manufactured in Germany and Switzerland,’ Andrew says.
‘Which means if something goes wrong, it could mean a lot of extra expense and months of hold-ups.’
On installation day for the glazing at the top of the house, Lawford Road was closed off, and a crane was hired to lift and deliver the glass. ‘However, the wind was too strong, and a pulley system had to be constructed out of scaffolding instead,’ Andrew says.
How to go green at home
Whether you are building a new home from scratch, retrofitting a draughty period property or revamping a small flat, here are the go-to websites and resources for creating a greener home…
Passivhaustrust.org.uk
Meeting the leading international low-energy design standard means using high-performance insulation and ventilation systems so a conventional heating system is no longer needed. The website is full of guides, inspirational projects and links to events.
Energysavingtrust.org.uk
This independent organisation, committed to tackling the climate emergency, offers homeowners advice on reducing their carbon footprint and slashing their energy bills.
Homebuildingshow.co.uk
Held regularly in cities across the UK, the Homebuilding & Renovating Show showcases inspirational eco homes and is a great place to get expert advice direct from architects and designers, as well as find the most innovative energy-saving products.
Greenbuildingstore.co.uk
A two-time winner at the 2021 Green Home Awards, Green Building Store offers support and advice whatever the scale of your project. It also sells a wide range of eco-build products, from triple-glazed windows and doors to advanced MVHR heat recovery ventilation systems.
Enhabit.uk.com
This London and Norwich-based consultancy offers energy surveys, pinpointing the energy-saving potential of your property, and for future developments such as loft conversions and extensions.
Woodlandtrust.org.uk
A treasure trove of advice for gardeners who want to make their outside space truly green, and bird and bee-friendly.
Thegreenturtle.co.uk
A one-stop plastic-free online shop, selling everything from compostable sponges to coconut oil dishwashing soap and beeswax candles.
‘If the glass had been dropped, we were looking at another £30,000 and six or seven months for it to be remade. Luckily, it turned out OK.’
As you would imagine, home automation in this high-tech pad also plays a key role, and was designed by KNX and Future Ready Homes. Sensors in each room continually monitor indoor air quality, feeding back to the mechanical ventilation system, which then responds, replacing stale air with the perfect level of pre-heated, filtered fresh air.
Andrew is also able to write and change his own codes to control elements of the home, such as the interior lighting, which automatically tracks the daylight outside.
It’s all part of the flexibility they wanted — a home that can truly adapt to their changing needs.
As Andrew says: ‘We’re really excited to see how the building changes with us over the coming years.’
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