Located at 101–109 Northfield Avenue, this prominent corner building in Ealing occupies a key position at the junction of Northfield Avenue and Camborne Road, within a busy high street setting and close to excellent public transport links. The existing property comprised a 435 sqm Tesco food store at ground level with four two-bedroom flats above and ancillary office space used as staff accommodation.

The approved scheme reconfigures and extends the building to deliver nine residential units in total — comprising 4 one-bedroom, 4 two-bedroom, and 1 three-bedroom homes — alongside an enlarged commercial space of approximately 490 sqm. The design introduces a rear extension, a mansard roof extension, and a new single-storey addition above the commercial unit, as well as the conversion of the former Tesco office into an additional dwelling. A centrally positioned first-floor communal garden provides shared amenity space, demonstrating how air rights above an existing retail unit can be carefully optimised to intensify a constrained urban site without demolition.

Taking the project forward post-planning, AURA Architecture navigated significant technical and coordination challenges to ensure the scheme was fully buildable and compliant without losing any residential units or value. These included reconciling podium landscaping with fire strategy requirements where the access deck formed the sole means of escape, resolving major acoustic constraints from the main road and flight path through the introduction of MVHR and fixed glazing, carefully reworking drainage to protect commercial efficiency, and delivering a phased programme allowing early handover of the live Tesco store.

This project highlights that securing planning permission is only the beginning; the real architectural value lies in resolving the complex intersections between planning, fire safety, acoustics, servicing, and commercial viability to deliver high-quality new homes above a functioning retail environment.