Solidspace teams up with Jaccaud Zein to create sensitive brick-clad housing
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DeYNoED23b8zZMSDfW8Tnf-415-80.jpg)
London seems to be bursting with new, large-scale and high end residential developments, but an equally strong number of smaller – in scale, but not ambition – housing projects have also been quietly in the making. Shepherdess Walk near the city's Old Street roundabout is one of the latest additions to the genre, a new boutique development by Solidspace and Switzerland and London based architecture practice Jaccaud Zein.
The architects, headed by Jean-Paul Jaccaud and Tanya Zein, expanded to London from Geneva in 2009 – having existing links with the British capital – and soon began collaborating with the developers. 'We formed a partnership with Solidspace to develop the project at Shepherdess Walk and found it interesting to be both client and architect at the same time,' explains Jaccaud. 'This gave us a lot of freedom on the project and we could ensure that the architectural quality of the project was never compromised.'
A site-specific approach was important to the team, and the scheme draws on the area's rich historical heritage of terraced houses. 'The material decisions stemmed mostly from a desire to establish links with the context, giving as much as possible a sense of the building having always been there,' says Jaccaud. 'Our influences are very diverse and eclectic, from Georgian domestic architecture to Milanese modernity of the 1960's through to local vernacular.'
Using brick to link the new-build with the surrounding urban fabric, the architects designed the multiple housing scheme, balancing the scale between its three larger terraced houses and the five-unit-strong apartment block.
Large openings and a number of outdoors spaces – gardens and decked terraces – bring plenty of natural light in, while a split level arrangement – a Solidspace trademark – was introduced as a 'strong guideline' to the project, providing many possibilities, as well as challenges. 'We found it very challenging to reconcile this internal complexity of the buildings with the simple forms that we wanted for the outside, to enable the project to sit simply within its urban context,' says Jaccaud. 'But it provided us with a very rich range of spatial opportunities.'
An interior palette of simple, raw materials, including light coloured plaster, brass metalwork and warm solid oak flooring, helps create a calming environment inside. Providing a peaceful haven just a stone's throw away from the bustle of nearby Shoreditch, these units are energy efficient to boot, with a well insulated envelope and minimal electrical consumption for lighting during daytime.
Clad in brick, to blend seamlessly with the surrounding urban fabric, the scheme includes three terraced houses and an apartment block consisting of five apartment units
They all feature generous interiors and Solidspace's trademark split-level arrangement
Large openings and outside space - such as decked terraces and gardens - make these units bright and in touch with the outdoors
An interior palette of simple raw materials, including light coloured plaster, brass metalwork and warm solid oak flooring, creates a calming environment inside
INFORMATION
For more information on the architects visit the website
Photography: Helene Binet
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational living
Uxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published