Mottingham Court: a new top floor and full refurbishment for 12 flats
A run-down, two-storey block of flats refurbished on a tight budget and given a whole new floor under a sail-like roof.
The building
A developer had bought every flat in a run-down, U-shaped, two-storey block arranged around an entrance courtyard: 12 two-bedroom flats in all. The layouts wasted space on entrance halls and winding corridors, there were no balconies, and the shared garden was reached through narrow passages. The solid brick walls were damp.
A new floor
We were asked to look at fitting a couple of flats into the loft. Instead, we proposed removing the roof and adding a whole new floor. Rooftop extensions are usually set back from the edge, but there wasn’t room here without making the flats too small. So the new roof oversails the walls like a sail, giving the same set-back effect.
The flats
Highly selective demolition gave each flat clearer circulation. The two bedrooms stayed, the main bedroom gained an en-suite shower room, and the kitchen and living room were combined into one larger, modern space. Two sets of doors from it now open onto a full-width balcony, added to every flat.
The result
The budget was very low and the construction economical, yet the building has had an elegant, robust renewal.