Designed by Borland Architecture, these Brighton townhouses offer a striking architectural composition and make the most of a small plot of irregularly shaped land.

This project is for two side-by-side townhouses in Brighton on an irregularly shaped wedge of land. The owners’ brief called for a design that ensured a low-maintenance lifestyle, inspiring Borland Architecture to create this striking architectural composition with a robust material palette complemented by carefully selected planting.

Composed over three levels, each home features four bedrooms, two living zones and a three-car garage, maximising the modest 625m2 of site area.

The family who commissioned the project plans to live in one house and sell the other to fund the development and minimise their future financial commitments, all while having a state-of-the-art residence to call home.

By having a shared basement entry, we were able to make the most of the narrow frontage. We also fought hard with the council to include a pergola structure, boundary to boundary across the frontage which visually stretches the proportions, making the building look grander.

The layout of these Brighton townhouses takes advantage of the wedge-shaped block, widening towards the rear which offers habitable spaces the opportunity to spill externally, extending both the visual and physical proportions.

The rear of the property provides excellent views. Unfortunately, those views originally included the private spaces of neighbouring properties. We applied an articulated perforated screen, carefully orientated to block specific views into neighbouring private open spaces while maximising views where they were permitted. We also increased the size of the windows to optimise light and visual connection.