Copper Lane by Henley Halebrown

Copper Lane in London was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 20 September 2023 to a jury comprising Sunand Prasad, Marion Baeli, Chris Bicknell, Heather Topel, Hanif Kara, and Chair Catherine Burd. Read about how the project has stood the test of time.

Credit: Nick Kane

Completed
2014

Situated on a backland site between streets of terraced houses, Copper Lane is said to be London’s first co-housing scheme. Designed by Henley Halebrown, the development comprises six houses, a laundry, workshop, 50-square-metre hall – now used as a kindergarten – and perimeter communal gardens. Each house is unique – responding to different aspects of the site. All the living spaces are generous and triple aspect. Clad in brick and timber, the dwellings are articulated by landscape-format, timber-framed windows that frame oblique views across the site.

Credit: Nick Kane

Embodied energy has been reduced through the use of an engineered timber superstructure, timber cladding and fenestration, green roofs, and the recycling of waste materials from the demolition works. High levels of insulation and airtightness combined with MVHR, shared communal laundry, rainwater harvesting, and the use of reused materials have resulted in a Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. An EPC survey revealed that the operational energy use for House One is 58 kWh/m2/yr, which is below the RIBA’s 2030 Climate Challenge target for 2025 of 60 kWh/m2/yr.

Today, four of the original households continue to live in three of the homes. Two other homes have changed ownership. The houses themselves have remained the same. The homes have been inhabited, but not adapted to change, explains the architect. Rather, they were built to accommodate change. An assessment of the project in use is perhaps best provided by the people who live there: “I love my house – it is a thing of light, beauty, and sustainability. But it’s about being part of something bigger, a purposeful community, that has had the greatest impact on me.” – House Six resident.