152. Dunlace Road

A Victorian home extension and full internal reconfiguration in Clapton, this project began with a client who had previously worked with TYPE Architects through to RIBA Stage 3 in 2022. With the original concept largely established, the client was keen to avoid recommissioning a full architectural team and instead approached Lipley & Parker due to our hybrid model, bridging design, construction, value engineering and technical detailing.

Early involvement quickly identified a significant challenge: construction costs had shifted substantially since the scheme’s inception. Successive industry pressures following Brexit and the war in Ukraine had created a very different cost landscape, and the original budget no longer aligned with the project as designed.

Working alongside our sister company WAJ Studio, we retained the strength of TYPE Architects’ original concept while fundamentally reworking the project around current construction realities. Rather than value engineering through specification reduction alone, the approach centred on redesigning key elements to achieve greater efficiency while protecting the quality and intent of the scheme. This process included significant structural reconfiguration, replacing a rear portal frame strategy with two load-bearing blockwork walls, allowing the steelwork to sit within the ceiling zone and simplifying the overall structural approach.

Drainage layouts and service routes were redesigned, glazing packages were reconfigured alongside long-term collaborators CAB Workshop who manufactured the glazing units to be installed in house by Lipley and Parker , and roof light strategies refined and rationalized. Joinery packages were further developed in collaboration with SOMER and WUNSCH Cabinets, while material selections, detailing and construction systems were reconsidered throughout. Hardware and building systems were streamlined toward reliable, tried-and-tested mid-range solutions that Lipley & Parker have refined through years of project delivery.

The result is a warm, highly functional and sustainable family home centred around practical design decisions and collaborative expertise. Heating and hot water systems were developed alongside long-term partners ECONIC Energy, integrating an ASHP and underfloor heating strategy that balances performance with day-to-day usability. More broadly, the project reflects Lipley & Parker’s collaborative model — bringing together a network of specialist businesses and makers, each contributing expertise at key stages to deliver a carefully considered and highly resolved home.
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WAJ Studio: Structural Architect

TYPE Architects: Concept Architects

CAB Workshop: Doors and Windows Manufacture

SOMER: Kitchen

Wunsch Cabinets: Built in Joinery
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Photography by Colin Ross

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