Ribbon House, on Chevening Road in Queen's Park, is a four-storey terrace transformed into a home built around comfort, daylight and clean air. The AECB CarbonLite retrofit pairs clear architectural moves with measurable performance: a louvred canopy that tempers summer sun and admits winter light, a generous open-plan kitchen and living space at the rear, planted lightwells that lift the basement rooms, and an enlarged dormer above. High-performance insulation, airtight construction and new windows work with whole-house MVHR to hold stable temperatures and filtered air in every room. An air source heat pump and induction hob replace gas entirely, and discreet solar PV reduces operational energy. It is a home designed to look after the people in it.
Client: Private
Location: Chevening Road, Queen's Park, London
Local Authority: London Borough of Brent
Plot Type: Urban
Project Type: AECB CarbonLite Retrofit (Low-Energy Renovation)
Internal Area (GIA): 355 sqm
Living spaces
The ground floor now opens into a family-centred plan that connects back into the original structure. A flexible playroom sits alongside a kitchen and dining space where the family spends most of its time. At the rear, a projected canopy with integrated louvres shades the glazing in summer and lets low winter sun reach deep into the room, so the space stays comfortable through the year without relying on mechanical cooling.
Two planted lightwells bring daylight down into the basement, turning the lower-ground rooms into usable, pleasant spaces rather than an afterthought. At the top of the house, an enlarged dormer reshapes the second floor to give better-proportioned bedrooms.
Building fabric
The retrofit follows AECB CarbonLite principles, which means performance is designed in from the outset rather than added at the end. The external fabric is insulated well beyond Building Regulations, with continuous airtightness detailing and careful control of thermal bridges at junctions. New high-performance windows complete the envelope. Whole-house MVHR supplies filtered fresh air continuously, keeping CO2 and humidity stable and recovering heat that would otherwise be lost through ventilation.
Services and energy
The gas supply is removed entirely. An air source heat pump provides heating and hot water at a fraction of the carbon of the old boiler, and an induction hob replaces gas cooking. A discreet solar PV array offsets a portion of the home's electricity demand and reduces running costs over the long term.
Materials
The material palette pairs timber and calm mineral finishes with considered joinery, chosen for durability as much as warmth. Planting to the lightwells and rear garden supports biodiversity and softens the edge between the house and its landscape.
Ribbon House shows what a London terrace can become through a disciplined retrofit: clear architectural moves, a high-performance fabric, and an all-electric services strategy grounded in AECB best practice. If you're considering a low-energy renovation of your own home, we'd be glad to talk it through.
