From the architect. DSDHA has completed a family home, known as the Covert House, which lies hidden from view in the heart of a conservation area in Clapham Old Town, London. Set in a pastoral landscape of mature trees and gardens, the house acts a case study for testing several hypotheses. These span from interrogating the idea of the ‘domestic’ at the beginning of the twenty-first century, through to how sustainability might be integrated into high quality design without compromise. In addition, at a strategic urban scale it asks how a global city like London might provide new housing within its fiercely defended low-density backlands, close to the historic centre.