Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Cascading House Bridges 8-Foot-Gap Between Buildings

Posted: 22 Sep 2013 10:00 AM PDT

Narrow Stacked Gap House London 1

Ultra-narrow houses help to squeeze every inch of square footage out of cities, even filling gaps between buildings that measure less than eight feet wide. This tiny London home by Pitman Tozer manages to feel surprisingly spacious and full of light thanks to stacked rooms that cascade from the top floor to the bottom floor, widening out into the rear garden.

Narrow Stacked Gap House London 2

The house fits into what was formerly a side alley, with the narrow street frontage acting as the back of the home. But despite the small footprint available, the architects created a comfortable four-bedroom family residence. The bedrooms get larger as they step down from the fourth level to the first.

Narrow Stacked Gap House London 3

Narrow Stacked Gap House London 4

This way, each bedroom gets plenty of natural light. The bottom level opens out onto a spacious courtyard that transitions seamlessly into the home thanks to sliding glazed walls. A spiraling wooden staircase provides access to each room as well as the sculptural core of the home.

Narrow Stacked Gap House London 5

Narrow Stacked Gap House London 6

With these innovations, the home uses just one-third the energy of a typical home built to British building regulations. A ground-coupled heat pump and rainwater harvesting help further reduce the resources required to keep it running.