Lighthouse

28 SelfBuild&Design OctOber 2012

on the

Digging

deepMiriam Levin and Miki Lentin have built a contemporary court-yard house on a tricky infill site in London, reducing its overall height by burying the lower storey into the ground.

Story: Eleanor WildePICtUrES: Crawford Architects

OctOber 2012 SelfBuild&Design 29

“In many ways our naivety got us through this project,”

laughs Miriam Levin. “We had no idea how hard finding

a plot of land or building a house could be, otherwise

we might never have tried, but with no experience or

preconceived ideas we set out optimistically.”

Miriam and her husband Miki Lentin had been living with their

daughter Arielle, now four, in a small flat in Crouch End, and although

they loved the area the couple wanted a second child and needed more

space. Realising that their budget wouldn’t stretch to a three-bedroom

house in the neighbourhood they decided to find some land and build a

home instead.

“It wasn’t a dream that we’d had for decades, more a random idea of

Miki’s, and if we’d known how insane that idea was we would probably

have thought twice about it,” admits Miriam. “We walked around the

local streets looking for possible plots of land and then researched who

owned these on the Land Registry.”

Eight letters were sent out regarding potential plots, but Miriam and

Miki received only one response. A developer had obtained planning

permission to demolish four derelict lock-up garages and build a

bungalow on an infill site in Crouch End, and he offered to sell the

land to the couple. After several months of negotiating and waiting the

developer agreed to accept £350,000 for the small plot, which stands in

a conservation area at the end of a traditional Victorian terrace.

New build

“This house is everything we ever wanted, and every last

detail was chosen by us. We’re definitely never

moving from here!”

Award winnerLight House recently won the Best Home award in the Haringey Design Awards and is described as “a cunningly planned new house partly dug into the ground, yet light and airy”.

30 SelfBuild&Design OctOber 2012

“We’d already admired a house designed by London

architects Crawford Partnership, and decided to approach

them about our project,” says Miki, Head of Communications

at the British Library. “We knew that the replacement house

couldn’t exceed the height of the garages on the site, and

by sheer coincidence the practice specialises in building

basements. They came up with a scheme for us even before we’d

purchased the land.”

The new house is set directly off the pavement, with rooms

arranged around a glazed courtyard to bring natural light

into the property while minimising windows onto the road

and creating privacy for the family. The main open-plan

living space, a study and the principal bedroom with en suite

have been positioned on the ground floor, with a basement

containing the family bathroom, a utility and two children’s

rooms looking out onto a sunken lightwell.

“We’re so glad that we decided to go with the idea of a

basement to gain the extra space, because we would almost

certainly have outgrown a single-storey house,” says Miriam.

“My grandfather lived in a 1960s house in Highgate, built

around a glazed courtyard, which I’d loved as a child. It

seemed fitting that my own children would grow up in a similar

courtyard house with their own private living space downstairs.”

Planning permission for the design was granted in just eight

weeks and the family sold their flat in December 2010. By now

Miriam was almost nine months pregnant with daughter Eden,

and was on maternity leave from her job with English Heritage.

“Then I was told that I was being made redundant, which

was completely unexpected and almost stopped us going ahead

with the build,” she recalls. “I loved my job and was determined

that we wouldn’t also lose the dream of building a house, so we

decided to go ahead as planned and moved in to live with my

dad and step-mum for the next 18 months.”

Three weeks later Eden was born, and Miriam attended

site meetings with the new baby in tow. Building contractor

Rocklawn Construction proved to be an ideal choice for the

project, and had been selected at the eleventh hour when the

original builder unexpectedly increased the tendered quote by

£40,000 just four days before work was due to begin on site.

“They presumed that we would just agree to the increase, but

we were building on a shoestring so we had to fire them and

start again, which delayed everything by several months,” says

Miriam. “We found Rocklawn through our quantity surveyor,

who had worked with them before, and employing them was the

best thing we did. They were absolutely superb and we trusted

them totally.”

The existing garages were demolished and finally work

could begin on site in September 2011. “By then we’d already

been living at my dad’s for nine months and virtually nothing

had happened,” continues Miriam. “I thought it would take

another year to build the house, but actually it was completed

in just over seven months, which was a pleasant surprise.”

Glass bricks light up the stairwellGlass bricks draw light into the stairwell, which is illuminated from above by simple bulbs suspended on red cords, made to Miki’s design by an electrician.

Light work in the kitchen... the open-plan kitchen area was designed by Miki and supplied by Clover Kitchens. An additional rooflight was added at the last minute in this space.

OctOber 2012 SelfBuild&Design 31

New build

Open-plan living and dining... Matching cabinets have been installed along one wall in the living/dining area, creating a link to the kitchen and providing useful toy storage and seating. oak flooring from parquet flooring three different John Lewis light fittings hang above the 1950s rosewood dining table. Sliding glass doors open onto the external courtyard, which Miki designed with built-in seating and garden lighting.

33 SelfBuild&Design OctOber 2012

Seventy-five piles were sunk into the ground, and excavation

for the basement was carried out with great care, as the plot is

surrounded by houses on three sides. Passers-by were intrigued

by the resulting pit. “They wondered if we were building a car-

park or a swimming pool,” laughs Miriam.

“Luckily our neighbours were lovely, and we were able to sort

out party wall issues without any problem. The people behind

us were building a conservatory just before we started on site,

and we agreed that they could use our land for access. In return

our builder was allowed to put his site hut in their garden and

stored materials there, which made building on such a tight

piece of land far easier.”

The lower ground floor was constructed using tanked

blockwork to prevent water ingress, with a pump system. At

first floor level the rendered blockwork structure has minimal

window openings facing the street and one side wall is clad with

grey ceramic tiles, which have been used in other locations

throughout the house and in the courtyard. “Our budget

wouldn’t stretch to polished concrete floors, so grey tiles were

the next best thing,” Miriam explains.

Privacy was a major issue for a house which is set directly

off the pavement, and obscured glass was installed in the

front façade facing the street. Miriam was concerned about

the large glass wall in the principal en suite, which faces onto

the entrance drive, but the obscure glass has proved to be 100

per cent effective. Two rooflights – one above the living area

and another above the kitchen – were inset into the flat roof,

dropping additional light into this open plan space.

When it came to choosing internal finishes Miriam’s love

of ornate baroque interiors gave way to Miki’s preference for

a simpler, 1950s-inspired look, which suits the living space

perfectly. “Once we started hunting for furniture and lighting

the whole house really came together,” says Miki, who envisaged

simple bulbs on red cords above the staircase, with an eclectic

mixture of light fittings above the dining table.

“Some decisions were made really quickly when Eden was only

a tiny baby and we were pretty sleep deprived,” continues Miriam.

“Luckily we still liked everything by the time it was installed – apart

from the yellow kitchen wall tiles which were probably our biggest

mistake, and aren’t as acid and zingy as we’d imagined. Everyone

stood looking at them shaking their heads.”

Other decisions received a universal thumbs-up, however,

including the engineered smoked oak flooring laid over

underfloor heating, which was chosen from an enormous

number of wood samples. The master en suite bathroom has

been lined with boutique-style chocolate brown tiles, and

the enormous walk-in shower is one of Miriam’s favourite

features. But it is the study which provokes the biggest reaction.

“I absolutely love having a designated room lined with books

where I can work,” she states.

The family have only been living in their new house for a

few months but already they are adamant that this will be a

home for life. “We didn’t realise just how much work a build

would be, and we’ll never do it again,” says Miriam, who

recently completed a university course in urban design and

started a new job running community consultations in areas

of regeneration. “This house is everything we ever wanted,

and every last detail was chosen by us. We’re definitely never

moving from here!”

The bottom lineMiriam and Miki spent £365,000 building Light House, which is currently valued at in excess of £1 million.

Bedroom opens onto courtyardthe principal bedroom is positioned on the ground floor, with glass doors opening onto the courtyard. Brown wall tiles from Checkalow tiles were chosen for the principal en suite bathroom, with sanitaryware from Aston Matthews.

Quirky bathroomthe ground floor family bathroom has a quirkily angled door and window, with sanitaryware from Aston Matthews.

OctOber 2012 SelfBuild&Design 33

New build

Home truthsWhat was the high point of the project? Learning so much throughout the build was fascinating – from the piling through every stage of construction to the final fitting out. And demolishing the old garages on the site was very satisfying!What was the low point? Losing my job at the start of the project was stressful and then the piling was halted at the last minute because our neighbour’s house required underpinning before work could begin – which cost us an additional £4,000. What was your best buy?We bought several pieces of furniture on eBay, including the 1950s rosewood dining table for £300. Finding original 1960s Ladderax shelving in my dad’s loft was a bonus as we’d run out of money for built-in shelving.What was your biggest extravagance? the kitchen rooflight was a very last minute addition which cost £750 but was worth every penny. overall we went about 10 per cent over budget, but fortunately we could cover that with our contingency fund.

ContactsPROJECTArchitect crawford Partnership: www.crawfordpartnership.co.ukBuilding contractor rocklawn construction: 0208 427 4035Structural Engineer Symmetrys: www.symmetrys.comQuantity surveying Leys Surveying: www.leyssurveyingltd.co.ukSTRUCTUREDamp Proofing Harrison Preservation: www.harrisonpreservation.co.ukPiling Gmech: www.gemechltd.co.ukWindows, rooflights, sliding doors Alco Glass Systems: www.alcosystems.co.ukJoinery Mark collett: www.markcollett.co.ukRoofers P&R Roofing: www.pandrroofing.comElectrics MLN electrical Services: 07900 933 308FIXTURES AND FITTINGSKitchen clover Kitchens: www.cloverkitchens.co.ukTiling O’Shea Tiling: 0208 805 2081 Sanitaryware Aston Matthews: www.astonmatthews.co.ukGrey ceramic tiles Johnson tiles: www.johnson-tiles.comBrown en suite tiles Checkalow: www.checkalow.co.ukHandmade Mexican yellow kitchen tiles Milagros: www.milagros.co.ukOak flooring Parquet Flooring: www.parquet-flooring.co.ukYellow and green carpets tretford carpets: www.tretford.comLighting (dining table, living area pendant, master bedroom pendant) John Lewis: www.johnlewis.comOther lighting Arrow electricals: www.arrowelectricals.co.uk

Study is a favourite… A tall door opens into the dedicated study, which is Miriam’s favourite room in the house and offers a quiet retreat. original 1960s Ladderax shelving was found in Miriam’s father’s loft.