Casadanza II
Manwood Road, London SE4

SOLD

Architect: Chance de Silva

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ONE FLAT SOLD, ONE MORE NOW AVAILABLE

A two-bedroom flat on the ground floor
of this smart new-build development designed by the renowned architects Chance
de Silva.

Known as Casadanza, the development comprises three
flats and a semi-detached house. This particular apartment has two double bedrooms, a bathroom, a shower room, a large open-plan kitchen and reception room, and two areas of outside space. It has double-glazing, and is carpeted throughout. The flat is accessed via an internal communal stairway, and has an
entryphone.

Chance
de Silva’s work has been shortlisted by the RIBA and the Civic Trust,
and has been published internationally. For more information about the
architects, and about Casadanza, see the History section below.

The
property is located a short walk from Ladywell station, with services
to London Bridge, and Crofton Park, with services to St Pancras. Also
within walking
distance is Honor Oak Park station, from where regular fast
services run to London Bridge (12 minutes). The station is also now
part of London Overground, with trains to Dalston via Canada Water
(Jubilee Line), Shadwell (DLR), Shoreditch High Street and Whitechapel
(District and
Hammersmith & City Lines).

Nearby green spaces include
Ravensbourne Gardens and Blyth Hill Fields Nature Reserve, as well as
the newly transformed Ladywell Fields. Local amenities include the
Brockley Jack theatre and pub, Hilly Fields Farmers’ Market, the
Horniman Museum, the Broadway Theatre, Honor Oak Gallery, Jam Circus,
the Brockley Mess, Ladywell Arena and Aquarius Gold Club.

Tenure: Leasehold with Share of Freehold
Lease: 999 years remaining
Service charge: TBC

Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in these particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and floor plans are for general guidance only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific fittings — prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property themselves. All fixtures, fittings and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars are deemed removable by the vendor.


History

Having acquired a derelict former schoolkeeper’s house, the architects
Chance de Silva retained the shell of the existing building and extended
it in all directions to make a small residential complex.

With
its pitched blue-zinc roof and white-painted brick, the building
references its Crofton Park neighbours, but there is also a nod to Alvar
Aalto’s houses in Helsinki and Noormarkku.

The name Casadanza refers to the nearby Rivoli Ballroom – the
wonderfully preserved 1950s ballroom that is a still-thriving local
institution.

Chance de Silva describe Casadanza as follows: “We
have experimented with dance imagery, for example combining the forms
and movement of a pair of dancers with ‘stretching’ the existing box,
subdividing it into dwellings of different sizes. In particular the
blocky rectangular brickwork erupted into a rakishly tilted ‘hat’,
crowning the house and flats respectively. Under the ‘hats’ the ceilings
follow the eccentric lines of the sloping roof planes, and rooflights
drop in here and there to augment low-level views with high-level
illumination.”

The building makes the most of having three different aspects by carefully managing the views and the natural light.

Chance
de Silva have become particularly well known for designing intelligent
and experimental new-build houses. Each incorporates characteristics of
the local area and is tailored to the requirements of the client.

For
example, a house in Highbury called Venus, which occupies a site on a
very private and “defensive” street, opens up at higher levels to permit
views and let in light.

Cargo Fleet, built in 2005, is clad in
Cor-Ten steel and larch. This ‘lifetime live-work’ home can be used
flexibly to accommodate the
changes in circumstance of occupants over a lifetime. It could be one
larger dwelling, containing a home-office, or two smaller houses.
Writing about the project in the Architects’ Journal, Andrew Wulf declared that it “successfully addresses the changing face of the domestic”.

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