A new build 2 bedroom house of 90 sq m in north london. The client faced a typical problem for young people in London and the south east of England and was unable to afford to buy an apartment in the local area. His parents agreed to ‘donate’ the detached double garage adjoining the family house; this was demolished and the new house constructed on the same footprint. The existing site on the family house was split in two, both properties share a driveway and have separate gardens. The site is extremely tight and new house nestles between two existing houses of a diverse style and acts as a counterpoint with it’s limited palette of dark monochrome materials. The house is constructed using a structural timber inner frame skinned on brick to the lower level and anthracite zinc cladding cantilevering at the first floor level. A one storey height vierendeel truss was custom made on site to hang the first floor and support the roof structure which allows a clear span ground floor and vertical voids within the circulation space.