248 Kilburn High Road | InsideOut Architecture London

This new development, sited next to IOA’s earlier Cinematographer’s House project in Kilburn, proposes 14 new build apartments built to Passivhaus standards. Fronting the bustling Kilburn High Road to the West and overlooking Kilburn Grange Park to the east, the site contains a number of exciting possibilities.

Our design is comprised of two blocks, a street block clad in dark brick to deal with its gritty and hard-wearing streetside location and a courtyard block clad in a light, textured brick to bounce light down into the sheltered central courtyard.

The street block, sandwiched in a tight gap between existing buildings along the High Road, consists of four 2-bed apartments spanning over ground floor access to the courtyard that maintains a strong visual link between the development and the street.

The south facade of the courtyard block has large fixed triple glazed windows, maximising daylight and views in each unit. Its window reveals are lined with a white aluminium profile to relate the scheme to its context, recessed deep into the wall to express the thick Passivhaus walls and cast dramatic shadows. As this block rises up to its highest point to the north-east, it creates a number of private and shared terraces, providing all residents with access to bright, sunlit amenity.

The Passivhaus system uses Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery to retain heat within the apartments while providing fresh air in an extraordinarily efficient way. In adopting this progressive method of construction, our clients have commissioned a project tailored to the 21st century.