Search
A former walled garden becomes a modern home in London, with the living spaces arranged around two courtyards.
Located in one of London’s older neighborhoods, this new one-story house occupies the site of a former walled garden and subsequent car park. Design-led architecture firm Inglis Badrashi Loddo (IBLA) completed the project for long-term clients of the studio. The first house to be built in the historic Cleaver Square in 175 years, Walled Courtyard pays homage to the site’s history and the character of the original garden that stood in the south-east corner of the square.
The location of the plot and the neighboring Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse required the studio to follow strict planning rules, including the reconstruction of the exterior wall without any openings. This led the architects to orient the living spaces inward and to organize them around two courtyards. Built with both reclaimed and new brick, the new wall establishes a continuous shell around the new house, preserving the character of the site.
“Walled Courtyard is a project about creating richness within constraint. The site is extremely compact, but by thoughtfully choreographing natural light and framing views, we were able to create a home that feels generous and unexpectedly expansive. The memory of the original walled garden informed every aspect of the scheme – from the inward-looking arrangement of rooms to the material palette of reclaimed brick and lime mortar. Rather than inserting something overtly contrasting into the historic setting, we wanted the house to feel rooted in its context, as though it had quietly always belonged there,” says Jamal Badrashi, Director at IBLA.
While compact, the residence boasts an ingenious layout that enables clear sightlines throughout the interiors, a close connection to the outdoor spaces, and access to plenty of natural light. A small courtyard leads to the entrance. Here, the main bedroom offers access to views through the house, with another bedroom that doubles as a snug located toward the rear of the property. At the center, the open-plan kitchen and dining space open to the larger courtyard. The house also features a curved bathroom with a round skylight and cleverly hidden storage areas.
The architecture firm carefully chose the material palette. While the exterior wall combines locally sourced brick and lime mortar in a nod to the old garden, the interiors feature a more modern blend of materials and finishes. Apart from lime-washed brick in the courtyards, the team also used gray porcelain for the floors, green tiles in the bathroom, and white-washed timber for the exposed joists in the kitchen/dining area. Finally, the studio implemented a series of eco-friendly features to make Walled Courtyard greener, including efficient insulation, an air source heat pump, and a planted roof that makes the house appear like a garden when admired from the nearby buildings. Photography by Brotherton Lock.
