31 South Hill Park

Private house built in 1959–60 by Michael Brawne for himself and his family.

The three-storey semi-detached house is constructed with cavity-wall brick-bearing walls faced in sandlime bricks, concrete beam and scrree floors, and a felted roof with wooden structure and wood-wool panels. The end elevations feature vertical timber studs and horizontal members between floors and at roof level, all in stained softwood. Opening lights are louvres except for hinged glass doors opening on to the rear bridge. Some windows have been replaced to match the originals at higher specification. The timber bridge has been rebuilt to match the original.

The house fills the full width of its narrow site, which slopes steeply from north to south. The ground floor, reached by concrete steps from the pavement, sits above street level and contains a flat with a bed/living room at the front and bathroom and kitchen (formerly a dressing room) looking out to the garden rear. Narrow open-tread stairs run up the west side.

The main living space occupies a split-level first floor in open-plan arrangement, with a lower living room at the rear and a higher dining area and kitchen reached by two steps. The kitchen is partially screened by fitted units. A door from the living area accesses a bridge link to the garden, which is level with this floor. The second floor contains two inter-connected children's rooms at the front (originally communicating, now separate) and a main bedroom and bathroom at the back, divided by a narrow corridor.

Both street and garden elevations emphasise vertical elements through stained timber and glazing patterns. The north elevation presents a more private town-house frontage with brick panels alongside glazing. The south elevation is predominantly glazed at first and second floor levels; the ground floor is largely concealed by the site slope, with two pod-like projecting windows. The east wall sits very close to the site boundary; the house was originally detached, but a similarly styled house by TG Ingersoll has subsequently been built on to the west wall.

Interiors are deliberately simple, with timber predominating. Walls are painted white brick or timber-boarded. Ceilings are timber-boarded or plasterboard. Floors are grey linoleum tiles (replacing originals) with underfloor heating. The house retains its original fittings and fixtures, most made by Michael Brawne. Flush timber doors and recessed panels above are painted, contrasting with timber wall cladding. The main first-floor living space features a fitted unit that separates the open plan, providing through-views, with bookshelves on the living side and cupboards on the kitchen side. A roof panel above the fitted sofa reveals sky views via the upstairs corridor. Stairs with open treads provide glimpses up, down, and into the living room. On the upper level, an internal window within a front children's bedroom projects into the stairwell. The second floor expresses the monopitch roof internally, rising front to back, creating a higher-ceilinged main bedroom with water tanks concealed above the bathroom. Bedrooms have built-in wardrobes, beds, and shelving.

The flexible open-plan design was carefully conceived to adapt to the changing family dynamic.