Planning permission has been secured for a remarkable rooftop extension in the heart of Lewisham. Designed by Stolon Studio, the new dwelling sits lightly atop a former warehouse on Stanstead Road, transforming a previously underused roofscape into a bold yet sensitive piece of architecture.
This project is about more than an extra flat—it’s about showing how small urban sites can make a big contribution to sustainable city living. Long-time residents and local artists our clients have lived and worked at Victoria Works for over two decades. The new home will not only secure their future in Forest Hill but embodies their creative legacy through design.
Stolon’s response is characteristically inventive. Described by planning officers as “a quite unique approach,” the design features a triple-barrelled, curvilinear roof that gently reduces in scale and sits recessed from the edges of the building. The sculptural form draws inspiration from the building’s industrial past—specifically its rope-making and photographic heritage—while addressing prior concerns about over-dominance and overlooking.
The materials and construction reflect a sustainability-first ethos: a lightweight timber frame wrapped in profiled steel, with triple glazing, air source heat pump, and integrated solar panels. Planters and a semi-intensive green roof contribute to biodiversity net gain and sustainable drainage—no small achievement on a constrained site with no street frontage.
Importantly, this is a project born of local roots. Stolon’s offices are nearby in Brockley, and their previous work—like Forest Mews, Kaolin Court, and The Parks—demonstrates a continued commitment to sociable, sustainable and thoughtful housing.
Victoria Works is a modest intervention with a large impact. It celebrates the power of good design to unlock opportunity on even the most complex sites, aligning policy, place and people with a quiet confidence.