Voss Street is in a narrow mews directly behind Bethnal Green Road, occupied by a single storey garage block. A daylight assessment for a previous planning consent had established a maximum development envelope with an eaves line consistent with an existing adjacent two storey house, with breaks to permit daylight into the windows of properties to the rear. Only the front elevation onto the mews could be used for wall windows, the sides and rear being party walls.
To maintain privacy into the main floor from passing pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the lower ground floor is sunk one metre below street level, containing two bedrooms and bathrooms, with the main living space located on a raised ground floor piano nobile.
A further floor is located above, with the sloping zinc clad roof, to be a master bedroom or a studio for a home worker. The main windows to this room are located to the side onto a roof terrace which also provides a break in the building line to permit daylight into windows to existing properties at the rear.
The building is designed as a steel framed construction to maximise window area and permit a more abstract facade treatment.