Inglis Badrashi Loddo Architects (IBLA) have converted and extended a former Victorian laundry site in West London into a set of mixed-use contemporary buildings, compromising of two mews homes, seven flats and a new office.

Situated in an area of South Acton formerly known as ‘Soapsuds Island’ due to the prevalence of laundries and washhouses that dominated the neighbourhood, the Jeddo Road project is rooted in this locality.

Totalling 1100sqm in size and built for £2.6m, IBLA’s skilfull refurbishment preserves the site’s colourful history and original features, with extensive new additions purposefully built to visually grow out of the original in a clean and contemporary way.

The original buildings comprised a house (no.69) and part of the former Jeddo Works building (no.67), each dating from the 1870’s. IBLA made the decision to return back to the Victorian elements and remove the poor quality 20th century additions.

The double-height rusticated arches of Jeddo Works were carefully stripped of white paintwork to expose their deep red coloured bricks and original house was revived with the installation of a new concrete-framed extension. The new exterior matches the proportion and feel of the arches and adjacent buildings and was finished in a similarly industrial red-brick and patinated zinc.

As a mixed-use development the new build in no.69 contains office space and flats. On the ground floor an open-plan office is occupied by another architectural practice, with double height ceilings accommodating a mezzanine level for a modern workplace.

The flats above were aimed to contrast with the heritage of the exterior and as such are fitted out with a calm-palmette of materials including exposed concrete, steel beams and timber. These interiors are lit with ample, natural light from all sides. The penthouse flat that lies at the top of Jeddo Road benefits from a wrap-around balcony that offers spectacular views across central London.

A timber-lined passageway leads your through to a tranquil courtyard and garden shared by all users of Jeddo Road. The courtyard gives access to two new three-storey mews houses to the rear of the site, constructed in the tight-space between the walls of the former laundry.

These light and modern mews houses decked in white steel and timber face the communal courtyard, and have private sunken gardens, balconies and generous roof terraces which link to the first floor living spaces. The steel framed structure, recalling traditional Georgian canopied balconies provides both additional exterior space and mediates between the houses and the courtyard.

As a 21st Century piece of architecture Jeddo Road is designed to be sustainable and sensitive to the environment, and includes range of measures that exceed the requirements of Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. Building fabric was designed to minimise heat loss through high levels of insulation and air tightness. South facing winter gardens on the main block exploit passive solar heating and, combined with exposed concrete soffits contribute to the building's thermal mass, improving energy efficiency further. Products and materials were sourced sustainable and locally, and fabrics were reused and wherever possible.

IBLA Director Patrick Inglis said of the project “Jeddo Road is a big refurbishment in scale but as with all our projects we wanted the end result to be imbued with a real sense of ‘rootedness’ in its context and heritage. By returning the site to it’s Victorian look and feel we then had space at the back to build light, high-quality and contemporary homes and an office. The contrast is terrific and we’re delighted how much we brought to and got out of the site.“