A low-energy and low-carbon extension and retrofit of an Edwardian terrace house in SE London that combines the spatial qualities of a historic London terrace with the colour and materiality found in the architecture of the household’s South Indian cultural heritage. Mazhavil means rainbow in Mayalalm. 

The clients approached nimtim with the aim of creating a ‘forever’ home in their adopted city of London. They wanted this home to be healthy, sustainable and to reflect their own identities that included South Indian family heritage with lives and careers now based in London.

Our briefing game solidified these ambitions as well as revealing their passion for creating a healthy and sustainable home that would also be affordable and joyful. One of the clients had an extreme sensitivity to VOCs so one crucial and challenging aspect of the project was to avoid any petro-chemical derived products within the entire build including adhesives and sealants whilst also achieving high levels of thermal performance. Due to budget constraints, it was agreed that the project wouldn’t seek to obtain specific performance standards and instead, the design team followed best practice guidance - primarily referencing LETI guides and working alongside the extremely helpful Ecological Building Systems to develop 100% bio-based external wall build ups and establish performance specifications for whole house ventilation and air source heat pump.