Semi Attached
A completed project in Hampstead, London, by WILLIAM TOZER Associates
The most common property type in the United Kingdom, semi-detached houses take their name from a nineteenth century assumption that detached houses are the most desirable form of dwelling, and the moniker implies that they are the next best option. While this attitude persists for many in the twenty-first century, terrace houses have grown enormously in popularity, as has apartment living. In fact, the loft apartment is arguably the model for the open-plan refurbishment and extension of London’s historic housing stock, often utilising industrial materials. Meanwhile, homeowners, planners and architects remain attached to certain historical elements of the houses they renovate—such as skirtings, cornices, spindles, windows, brickwork, and tiles. Semi Attached is physically attached to its neighbour, but is also a manifestation of the negotiation of competing impulses—emotional attachment to historic building traditions, and the desire to reframe the modern and industrial landscape that one encounters outside of one’s home.
