A technically demanding development in White City: an existing four storey property transformed into self-contained flats, with a completely new basement dug beneath it measuring roughly fifteen metres long, five metres wide and three metres deep.
Creating it was a significant engineering operation. The property had to be carefully supported while the excavation and structural works were carried out below the existing building. Once excavated, the basement was structurally formed and incorporated into the development, adding a substantial amount of residential floor space.
Rather than treating it as a separate area, we built it into the layout — flats extending across the basement and ground floor, with the living areas below and the bedrooms above.
Supporting the building while excavating beneath it, then working upwards to the loft
The entire four storey property was comprehensively reconfigured. The internal configuration had to be designed so that every part of the original building, plus the newly created basement and loft, could be used effectively.
- Flats across the new basement and ground floor
- Further self-contained flats on the upper floors
- A full loft conversion creating more accommodation
- New internal layouts throughout
- New kitchens and bathrooms
- Complete electrical and plumbing installations
- New heating systems and boiler installations
- Bespoke staircases
- New glazing and rooflights
- Terraces and balcony areas
- External works and landscaping
A major part of the project was preparing the building so the individual flats could operate independently. Pipework, electrical supplies, drainage and service routes had to be planned from an early stage, with individual boilers and heating systems installed for each flat.
That coordination was the difficult part: the services had to pass through a property simultaneously undergoing major structural alterations, basement construction and complete internal reconfiguration.
Original brickwork kept and cleaned, new services and finishes throughout
The result
By constructing a substantial new basement, reorganising the internal accommodation, converting the loft and installing completely new services throughout, virtually every available part of the building was put to use — turning one property into a collection of modern, individually serviced homes.