From the street, Standen Infill first presents itself as a garage. The additional home is revealed through the site, with a further storage level below. Understanding the building means reading its section as well as its frontage.

For Dean, this was the second stage of a property project that began with an earlier renovation. He wanted street-level garaging and storage together with a one-bedroom secondary dwelling for income. The accommodation also needed to retain possibilities for Airbnb or family use later.

Modal Architecture arranged these requirements as three stacked layers. The garage meets the street, the home sits below it and storage occupies the level beneath. This gives the different functions a clear relationship while keeping vehicle access at the point where it is needed. The arrangement makes room for more than the street elevation initially reveals.

Projecting gable ends give the upper levels their identity above a masonry base. Their form distinguishes the building’s upper parts within the layered composition, allowing the building to read as architecture as well as an allocation of useful space. The dwelling is part of that composition even where the first impression is of garaging.

Boundary controls, the vehicle crossing and foundations shaped the development of the scheme. Our involvement in Dean’s earlier renovation provided an existing understanding of the property, reducing the need to establish everything again. That continuity supported time and cost savings as the new stage was resolved.

Dean now has a property that combines independent accommodation with the garaging and storage he needs. A garage where vehicles arrive, another home within the site and storage below give the property three useful layers, with the accommodation able to serve different purposes over time.