Headline House, Surrey

The project proposes the sensitive redevelopment of a vacant commercial site at the prominent corner of Stanwell Road and Chaucer Road in Ashford, replacing an obsolete single‑storey structure with a finely articulated residential building that responds carefully to its suburban context. The design establishes a strong yet respectful presence, using a series of stepped gables to address both frontages and reinforce the prevailing street rhythm, while its overall height, roof form and material palette -combining buff and red brickwork, plain tile roofing and contemporary glazed elements - ensure harmony with the surrounding 1930s dwellings and the adjacent Grade II listed St Hilda’s Church. 

The scheme delivers fourteen thoughtfully planned apartments arranged over four levels, including a semi‑basement that accommodates parking and a single dwelling, enabling a significant reduction in site coverage and the introduction of landscaped amenity spaces that enhance the street scene. Careful massing, improved boundary treatments and considered planting strategies soften the building’s edges and improve the setting of this key corner plot, transforming a previously utilitarian site into a contextually grounded, high‑quality development. The proposal demonstrates how contemporary design, rationalised internal layouts and sensitive urban intensification can positively contribute to the character, quality and accessibility of the local environment.