Architects around the world are transforming neighborhoods by creating innovative residential solutions on difficult-to-use urban spaces. These eight architectural firms have tackled complex site restrictions with remarkable creativity, turning challenges into opportunities for outstanding design.
The NW10 House in London, designed by Platform 5 Architects in 2023, exemplifies how to maximize a narrow infill site. The family home features distinctive gray stone facades with raised textures that address the challenges of its tight location. According to the firm, the house "tackles the challenges of its narrow infill site, approaching the street with a slim two-story elevation that references neighboring Edwardian facades, while at the rear, it spreads into a series of cascading forms and terraces to adapt to the triangular site." Inside, bold materials, natural light, and sculptural forms create playful architectural surprises where rooms and volumes interweave, revealing the previously unsuspected vastness of the house.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Curtain House by Johnsen Schmaling Architects stands out dramatically from its residential neighbors with its spaceship-like appearance. The building fills a long, narrow lot and features tall windows crossed with curtain-like elements that glow in the evening light. According to architect Johnsen Schmaling, "the street facade of the building was designed as a playful abstraction of the omnipresent curtains that cover almost all the windows of urban residences." This contrast between curtains and glass facade creates a game of form, light, and textures that animates the surrounding neighborhood landscape. The carefully detailed facade consists of closely spaced vertical shutters installed at progressive rotation angles to form a continuous and highly animated screen wall that extends across the entire facade.
Casa Ederlezi in Mexico, created by Práctica Arquitectura in 2022, demonstrates how to work within extreme space constraints. Built on a site only 5 meters wide, the house features warm ochre red walls and is organized around "a spine of circulation and services along the boundary and a central courtyard that divides the program into two volumes." The design team describes the house plan as based on a "rational succession of squares" that is "dynamic, with steps, platforms, superimposed frames and chamfers, culminating with the red ziggurat, which forms a barrier with the street and, with its facade, resolves current heritage and conservation restrictions."
The TH House in Hanoi, Vietnam, designed by ODDO Architects in 2021, tackles the challenge of a plot measuring just 4 meters wide by 6 meters long in a constantly expanding city. Designed for a family of four, the house promotes family bonding through its thoughtful layout. "Common spaces, such as the kitchen and living room, are arranged alternately between the private bedrooms of parents and children. The living room, located in the center of the house (on the 3rd floor), is connected to other rooms by light wells, thus promoting exchanges between family members, while increasing natural lighting and ventilation," explains ODDO. The site also benefits from integrated greenery that helps maintain comfortable indoor temperatures while encouraging residents to stay connected to nature.
Spruce House in East London, completed by Ao-ft in 2021, represents the young firm's first completed project and demonstrates their interest in sustainable architecture. Built on a vacant lot in Walthamstow, the residential house includes an independent studio. Surrounded by diverse buildings, the house features facades designed to evoke the typology of the neighborhood's commercial facades, with bay windows extending across the entire ground floor and a substantial volume divided by a series of vertical wooden battens and mullions. These elements give a sort of visual rhythm to the facade, creating contrasting patterns between the different levels of the building.
Casa Vedia in Argentina's Nuñez neighborhood, built by BHY Arquitectos in 2023, occupies the entirety of its 15-meter-deep site between party walls, organized around two patios. With its white facade and doors, the house appears almost discreet among the surrounding buildings and accompanying greenery. According to BHY Arquitectos, "the entrance courtyard ensures the transition with the street, while the backyard regulates the lighting and ventilation of the spaces in the quiet part of the building. The arrangement of the patios, facing each other but obsolete, and wooden furniture structure the living spaces on the ground floor."
13a Portobello in Dublin, Ireland, completed by Gró Works in 2023, is described as "a compact house, nestled in a green space at the back of the Victorian Portobello neighborhood." The innovative approach to space and layout addresses requirements related to the narrowness of its 90-square-meter site and its lack of amenities like parking and outdoor space. The house was designed with living space on the ground floor to take advantage of roof lighting, with window space limited by stunning views. Its architectural style creates a balanced contrast with other buildings in the surrounding neighborhood, and its red bricks recall the historic housing of Irish cities. The site once housed a disused garage at the rear of an existing property accessible on foot, allowing the new property to fit into the "15-Minute City" principle given Portobello's proximity to public transport and the city center.
Finally, the Glass Brick House in Belgium, constructed by Delmulle Delmulle Architecten from 2023 to 2025, faced the challenge of a narrow site enclosed on all sides. According to the firm, "the project imposed itself as a compromise: a building that stands out while harmoniously integrating into its environment." The avant-garde construction method adds to a carefully studied double facade that contributes to the inhabitants' quality of life without negatively impacting the building's energy efficiency. The glass brick facade that gives the project its name "evokes atypical row houses. The brick pattern and ornamental window frames reference the 1707 stepped gable house located just down the street." A second insulating glass facade was placed behind the glass brick wall, leaving just enough space for window and facade maintenance while preventing significant energy loss.
