Growing Between
This design-led study explores the potential of gentle densification as a strategy to address the UK’s housing needs while maintaining the character and quality of existing neighbourhoods. Rather than large-scale redevelopment, the focus is on small, incremental interventions that make use of underutilised land—particularly infill sites such as the ends of gardens. These spaces, often overlooked, represent a dispersed but significant resource for creating new homes in established communities.
By testing design approaches within these constrained and highly contextual sites, the project investigates how modest additions can contribute to housing supply, while respecting privacy, light, and improving biodiversity. The study also considers the social, spatial, and environmental implications of building within such intimate urban conditions—asking how careful architecture can balance new density with the preservation of suburban character and residents’ sense of ownership and community. Providing smaller additional homes has the benefit of allowing older generations to downsize by staying in their community and in turn releasing much needed family homes.
Ultimately, this exploration aims to reframe back-garden and infill sites not as residual land, but as opportunities for thoughtful, site-specific architecture that supports sustainable urban growth.
Diagram illustrating typical suburban plots with detached (shown) or semi-detached homes set back from the street with long back to back rear gardens.
Diagram explores using the ends of gardens to provide additional homes, as individuals or grouped.
The end of garden sites have a very particular set of constraints and opportunities. Bound by neighbouring plots on three sides, creating a home that has natural light and ventilation whilst affording privacy requires a very specific solution. Arranged around a central service 'pod' that defines and serves each space; entrance, living, kitchen, dining and hall. The private spaces; bedrooms and bathroom are accessed off the more private hall with views into an intimate courtyard.
A entrance court provides a sheltered transitional space before entering the home. A central service 'pod' that houses the bathroom also provides seating, storage and worktops to the surrounding spaces. The more private hall that runs along side the courtyard could be can kept open or closed off from the main living spaces.
A section showing how a pitched roof gives height to the social spaces as well as providing light and ventilation to the bathroom. The lower spaces are kept towards the boundary with the bedrooms and hallway having views onto an intimate courtyard space.
One of the principal challenges of delivering new homes within long residential gardens is providing suitable access, and often the only option illustrated above is to create a narrow driveway running alongside the existing house for the full length of the plot, that fragments existing gardens consuming a significant amount of valuable land.
An alternative to this approach is the potential for a new shared mews street, introduced through a 'gateway' building, creating a more coherent pattern of development that supports multiple new homes while establishing a stronger sense of place, improving land-use efficiency, and offering a more attractive and integrated neighbourhood character.