WWA Studios designed and delivered five mews houses for Origin Housing within Camden Conservation Area. These new private residential mews houses are located to the rear of a retirement housing redevelopment scheme also designed and delivered by our team of specialist designers. The mews house site was offered up for sale to fund the upgrade and remodelling of the retirement housing. The Mews Houses were designed to maximise natural light and took a ‘fabric first approach’ to sustainability. WWA Studios were responsible for securing the planning permission at the site and navigated difficult Conservation Area constraints. Mews houses as a typology are always challenging in terms of their immediate relationship to the street. The building’s facade is the threshold between public and private unlike typical ‘streets’ which benefit from semi-private garden space in front. The challenge with mews house design is to achieve a sense of privacy through clever fenestration design. The material palette was selected to compliment the surrounding buildings and drawing on the heritage of the area. The timber louvres offer privacy as well as solar shading, bringing a warmth to softness to the lower level. The set back zinc clad dormers provide a smart and contemporary silhouette against the sky. The overall massing and approach to materially were guided by a sensitive response to the Camden Conservation Area. WWA Studios have significant experience in designing within such settings, having worked on many historic buildings in similarly protected areas.