Lilford Road

Location

Camberwell, London

Sector

Private Residential

The development at 106 Lilford Road in Camberwell, London, is a sophisticated architectural and engineering response to a constrained, triangular site. Designed by Studio HANDS, the project replaced a dilapidated 19th-century dwelling with two contemporary houses that balance contextual sensitivity with rigorous structural problem-solving.

Architectural Design

The architecture is defined by its geometry and materiality, designed to negotiate the awkward bend in the road where the terrace ends.

  • Form and Geometry: The building features a distinctive filleted (rounded) corner. This “chamfered” approach smooths the transition between the two different street axes, providing visual relief to the streetscape while maximizing internal floor space.
  • Contextual Materiality: The facade uses a palette of brick and precast concrete lintels. While the brick color was chosen to contrast slightly with the existing Victorian terrace, the use of arched ground-floor openings and a bay window typology mirrors the traditional rhythms of Lilford Road.
  • The “Zinc Box”: The top floor is expressed as a modern zinc-clad extension, set back to reduce the building’s massing and create a clear distinction between the “heavy” masonry base and the lighter roof level.

Structural Engineering & The Strategic Sewer

The most significant technical challenge was the presence of a 2.6m diameter Victorian Thames Water strategic sewer running directly beneath the site. Because this is a critical piece of London’s infrastructure, the structural design had to ensure that no additional loads were transferred to the sewer brickwork.

Engineering Solutions:

  • Detailed Impact Assessment & Monitoring: During construction, strict movement monitoring was required to ensure the 150-year-old brick sewer remained stable.
  • Stakeholder communication: The design required a complex “Build Over” agreement, necessitating high-precision structural calculations to prove that the new houses would not cause settlement or structural failure of the old Victorian asset.