Flawk with Nikjoo Architecture wins planning permission for Gospel Oak

Nikjoo has won planning approval for an infill three-storey house in Gospel Oak, north London, backed by emerging female-led developer Flawk

The three-bedroom family house will sit on an empty, neglected site on the corner of Lamble Street and Grafton Road.

The brick-clad, timber-framed project adjoins a row of 1960s terraces built as part of Powell & Moya’s Lamble Street estate.

The scheme features two different types of buff bricks – chosen to ‘sensitively sit within the existing context as well as reducing the visual mass’ – together with ‘rhythmic window placement and circular porthole windows [to] playfully animate the elevations’.

A previous proposal for the site had been drawn up by Hayhurst and Co for then siteowner Camden Council. The site was later sold on at auction and bought by Flawk.

Nikjoo’s 9m-tall ‘low-carbon, low-energy’ scheme is more than 1m shorter than Hayhurst and Co’s 2015 consented proposal.

However, once complete, it will provide 132m² of internal space, compared with 104m² in the earlier application.

The ‘distinctive, adaptable home’ is Nikjoo’s third scheme  for Flawk, which was founded by Bartlett graduate Ashley Law in 2022.

Law said: ‘This project’s architectural language is a playful or contemporary nod to the local design character while respecting the unorthodox shape of the site. The end design stresses the importance we place on curated interior spaces and sustainability, as well as local artistry.’

Concept interior for Nikjoo's recently approved Gospel Oak scheme for developer Flawk

Project data

Location Gospel Oak, London
Local authority Camden Borough Council
Type of project New-build residential
Client Flawk
Architect Nikjoo
Landscape architect Nikjoo
Planning consultant Planning Insight
Structural engineer ConstantSD
M&E consultant Not applicable
Quantity surveyor Not applicable
Principal designer Nikjoo
Lighting consultant Nikjoo
Main contractor To be confirmed
Funding Private
Tender date July 2024
Start on site date September 2024
Completion date May 2025
Contract duration Seven months
Gross internal floor area 186m²
Form of contract and/or procurement To be confirmed
Annual CO₂ emissions CO₂ emission will be 62.2 per cent lower than Part L1 2021, with a reduced Primary Energy Rate of 25.2 per cent above that required by Part L1 2021
Total cost Confidential