Terraced house for sale in Croydon CR0, 4 Bedroom

St Bernards is the only project by the renowned Swiss architects Atelier 5 in the United Kingdom. Built as part of forward-thinking Park Hill in Croydon in 1969-70, the houses were inspired by the group’s iconic Halen estate near Bern, Switzerland. The design was informed by ideas of community and privacy, garden city notions of a healthy lifestyle, and Modernist intentions of truth of materiality, light and space. This excellent house has four bedrooms and two private courtyard gardens.

The estate is set on a south-facing slope that is shaded by mature trees, and this landscape informed the form and orientation of the houses. Now designated a conservation area to ensure the harmony of the architecture, the front of each house is a uniformly discreet when approached from one of the communal walkways.

Through the front door is a courtyard, each built with a pergola to be the perfect suntrap. Large glass sliding doors open onto the dining room. Internally, the houses have a narrow profile that is angled towards garden views at each end. They were structurally composed so that no internal walls were load bearing, in order that residents could rearrange the living spaces to suit their needs. This house retains most of its original from.

The dining room leads to a kitchen lit from above with skylights. A small bedroom that also looks to the courtyard is currently used as a study. Beyond this is the large living room, with a timber balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows with views over the St Bernards rooftops and to the lush countryside beyond.

The bedrooms are downstairs, with floor-to-ceiling glazing that opens onto the second and wonderfully private courtyard. Like its predecessor in Halen, the houses in St Bernards have a large ‘rumpus room’ behind the bedrooms. Intended for noisy activities like children’s games, the current owner has re-imagined this as a fourth bedroom, with a lightwell to the courtyard above.

St Bernards has great communal facilities and grounds, in line with Atelier 5’s intentions for it as a cohesive community. The residents remain actively involved in running the estate. There is a large underground car park which was visionary for its time – within which each house has a space – as well as visitor’s parking.

Service charge: Approx £1,080 per annum