Cavendish Avenue

Cavendish Avenue

Cavendish Avenue is a tree-lined suburban enclave rich in architectural character and domestic diversity. The houses are large yet individual, creating an interestingly disjointed street frontage.

Cavendish Avenue by Mole
Cavendish Avenue by Mole
Cavendish Avenue by Mole
Cavendish Avenue by Mole

Cavendish Avenue is a tree-lined suburban enclave rich in architectural character and domestic diversity. The houses are large yet individual, creating an interestingly disjointed street frontage.

The new house – a contemporary ‘villa’ – replaces a 1930s detached house which was a crude amalgamation of modernist and rural cottage aesthetics, uncomfortably small and with a series of unfriendly spaces. It has been designed to be of exemplary quality in design, scale and construction, reinforcing the existing overall architectural quality of the street.

The house was very contentious at planning, however the council planning department are now known to use it as an example of how contemporary design can work in existing historic neighbourhoods.

Since occupation, energy use has been monitored and the energy use meets stringent German Passivhaus standards for energy efficiency.

More case studies

The new visitor and education centre at Brockholes Wetland and Woodland Nature Reserve near Preston is set on a floating ‘island’ on a lake. The design, by Adam Khan Architects, won an RIBA competition and was inspired by the now-destroyed magical landscape of the Marsh Arabs in Southern Iraq, recorded by the anthropologist Wilfred Thesiger in the 1950s

Pocket House is an award-winning family house, distinguished by its character, the quality of its detailing – much of it in timber
– and by the skill with which the architect has made use of a dauntingly restricted site.