{"id":789918,"date":"2026-02-26T09:03:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:03:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/789918\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T09:03:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:03:22","slug":"metashape-completes-backland-housing-on-walthamstow-garages-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/789918\/","title":{"rendered":"Metashape completes backland housing on Walthamstow garages site"},"content":{"rendered":"

The scheme was approved by Waltham Forest Council in 2022 and started on site in August the next year<\/a>. It delivers four houses in a mews-style development on an 18 x 36m backlands plot off Wolsey Avenue in Walthamstow.<\/p>\n

The homes are arranged in two semi-detached blocks to avoid overlooking from a neighbouring apartment block and are clad in \u2018rustic\u2019 white brick. They feature sedum roofs and all have their own private south-facing gardens.<\/p>\n

Brick vaulted roofs, which act like rainscreen cladding, are formed by chamfering brick slips on cementitious board, fixed to a metal frame.<\/p>\n

The brickwork has been finished with a white cement, lime and washed river sand mortar \u2013 a surface treatment known in Scandinavia as \u2018s\u00e6kkeskuring\u2019 \u2013 used as a way of creating a more monolithic appearance without losing the identity of each brick.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Building corners, coping and roofs are of glazed white brick for added robustness and to assist water run-off from the curved roof surfaces.<\/p>\n

Internally, each entrance hall is double-height and lit by a large rooflight. Each unit features a gallery walkway to access first-floor bedrooms.<\/p>\n

All open-plan living and dining spaces open onto outdoor spaces. Glazing is shaded by cantilevered overhangs at first-floor level.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0emerging London-based practice<\/a>, which has studios in London and Winchester,\u00a0was set up in 2022 by former DLA Architecture architects Alex Giles and Ian Liptrot.<\/p>\n

Last year, Enfield Council granted planning approval<\/a> to Metashape Architects for a four-home infill scheme in Winchmore Hill, north London, replacing eight lock-up garages backing onto railway tracks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Architect\u2019s view<\/p>\n

The site came with its challenges being close to the windows of a neighbouring apartment building, therefore the floorplan was arranged so that any potential for overlooking was avoided and the massing modelled to meet daylight and sunlight standards.<\/p>\n

The design includes a combination of clever technical solutions such as the brick vaulted roofs formed by chamfering brick slips on cementitious board and fixed to a metal frame which acts similar to rainscreen cladding.<\/p>\n

The walls of the building are built using a rustic white brick with white mortar, influenced by a Scandinavian technique known as \u2018S\u00e6kkeskuring\u2019 so that the surface finish is appreciated as a way of creating a more monolithic architecture, without losing the identity of each and every brick. The building corners, coping and roofs are proposed in a glazed white brick for added robustness at the edges, and to assist water runoff from the roof surfaces.<\/p>\n

The entrance hall is double height, top-lit by a large rooflight and features a gallery walkway to access the bedrooms on the first floor.<\/p>\n

The buildings are orientated to create south-facing gardens with open plan kitchen\/living\/dining spaces that open out onto the outdoor space. The large areas of glazing at ground floor level are protected from the sun by a cantilevered overhang on the first floor.<\/p>\n

A green pitched roof is a bit of a novelty \u2013 most green roofs are flat \u2013 and adds biodiversity, bringing floral enrichment complimenting the landscaped mews and south-facing rear gardens.<\/p>\n

Ian Liptrot, founding director, Metashape Architects<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Project data<\/p>\n

Location<\/strong> London E17
Start on site<\/strong> March 2024
Completion<\/strong>\u00a0July 2025
Gross internal floor area<\/strong> 345m2
Gross (internal + external) floor area<\/strong> 553m2 (including the rear gardens)
Form of contract<\/strong>\u00a0Design and build
Construction cost<\/strong> \u00a31.2 million
Architect<\/strong> Metashape Architects
Client<\/strong> Eastbank
Structural engineer<\/strong> AWA Consulting Engineers
M&E consultant<\/strong> Irvineering
Drainage consultant<\/strong> JPChick
Landscape consultant<\/strong> Studio 413
Acoustic consultant<\/strong> E3P
Project manager<\/strong> Eastbank
Principal designer<\/strong> Eastbank
CDM co-ordinator<\/strong> TWS Consulting
Approved building inspector<\/strong> Waltham Forest Local Authority
Main contractor<\/strong> Eastbank
CAD software used<\/strong> Revit<\/p>\n

Environmental performance data<\/p>\n

Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >2%<\/strong> Not calculated
Percentage of floor area with daylight factor >5%<\/strong> Not calculated
On-site energy generation<\/strong> Nil
Annual mains water consumption<\/strong> 105 l\/occupant
Airtightness at 50Pa<\/strong> Unit 1: 4.8 m3\/h.m2, Unit 2: 4.7 m3\/h.m2, Unit 3: 4.7 m3\/h.m2, Unit 4: 4.6 m3\/h.m2
Heating and hot water load<\/strong> Not calculated
Operational energy<\/strong> Not calculated
Total energy load<\/strong> Not calculated
Overall area-weighted U-value<\/strong> Not calculated
Predicted design life<\/strong> 60 years
Embodied carbon<\/strong> Not calculated
Whole-life carbon<\/strong> Not calculated
Annual CO2 emissions<\/strong> Not calculated
Energy Performance Certificate rating<\/strong> Units 1,2 and 3: C, Unit 4: B<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The scheme was approved by Waltham Forest Council in 2022 and started on site in August the next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[229845,748,393,4884,229846,257,229847,16,15,9181],"class_list":{"0":"post-789918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-backland","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-infill-development","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-metashape","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-walthamstow"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116136129798317170","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}