Key Objectives

One has been to enhance daylight and material warmth throughout the lower floors. Rooflights, high-level glazing and open corners extend views towards the garden, while new joinery elements define zones without fragmenting the plan. The palette of materials has been chosen to balance robustness and refinement - exposed brickwork, lime plaster, and timber - creating a tactile, breathable environment that will age gracefully.

As a compact urban site, the project has required detailed coordination of access, drainage and construction logistics. The narrow frontage and shared party walls presented practical challenges, met through close collaboration with the engineer and contractor. 

Located within the Stroud Green Conservation Area in North London, Albany Road is a typical late-Victorian terrace on a steeply sloping site. 

Our role as Architect and Principal Designer - in partnership with Studio Hako as Contractor - has been to guide the project through design development, planning and technical stages, balancing conservation sensitivities with the clients' ambition for more generous, better-connected living spaces.

The Existing House,

Though full of charm, the existing house has suffered from the familiar constraints of its type - a narrow plan, poor connection to the garden, and disjointed internal arrangement. Our design centres on a new single-storey rear extension and the reconfiguration of the ground floor to create a coherent flow between kitchen, dining and garden spaces, giving a quieter, more confident demeanour to the dwelling. 

As a compact urban site, the project has required detailed coordination of access, drainage and construction logistics. The narrow frontage and shared party walls presented practical challenges, met through close collaboration with the engineer and contractor. 

Currently on site progressing towards completion mid-2026, the project embodies AH A's ongoing interest in the domestic scale - finding opportunity in the ordinary, and using small interventions to create spaces of generosity, adaptability and delight.