Dujardin Mews was the first social housing to be built directly by the London Borough of Enfield for around 40 years. The project forms the first phase of the wider Ponders End programme, creating replacement homes for the neighbouring Alma Estate and setting a new benchmark for future, sustainable redevelopment in the borough.
Our design unlocks a narrow, rectangular plot of brownfield land between the Oasis Academy School and a nearby suburban neighbourhood and creates 38 homes of differing typologies arranged in two terraces to create a new street through the site, re-linking important pedestrian connections between north and south and establishing a layout that encourages chance encounters and neighbourliness.
We collaborated with Maccreanor Lavington to create variety in built form and typology across the two terraces. The west terrace consists mainly of 2-storey houses, with 3-storey homes to the north, and provides a mix of family houses, maisonettes and courtyard apartments, while the eastern terrace is comprised of predominately
3-storey family homes, with a taller apartment building to the south masking nearby industrial units. The variety of types provided responds to local housing need and also contributes to the distinct character of the street.
Owing to site restraints, the east terrace features a set of uniquely slim family homes that are are orientated west to the street with private first floor terraces facing to the south, creating an arrangement where space is not compromised and no habitable rooms overlook the neighbouring school. Townhouses featuring pitched and mono-pitched roofs create an articulated and varied street profile, allowing daylight to flood the public realm. Internally, all homes are designed to be spacious and adaptable, with substantial floor-to-ceiling heights and ample natural light and ventilation.
A thoughtfully-planned, biodiverse landscaped public route connects all homes throughout the two terraces, featuring a play area and seating which marks the northern entrance to the street. To reduce fuel poverty, the scheme achieves Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) Level 5. Ambitious in its design and an exemplar for projects of its kind, Dujardin Mews was named in the Top 10 projects of 2017 by the Times and Guardian Newspapers.