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Marylebone knows all about failed attempts to modernise mews houses.

The main challenge faced by architects is to overcome their design negatives — small rooms, poor light and low ceilings in properties originally built, after all, for humble servants.

By contrast, newly built mews houses with open-plan spaces, double-height voids and lots of glass, can be spectacular.

This is demonstrated by a terrace of five excellent new tucked-away homes that are part of The W1 London, the redevelopment of BBC Radio London’s former Art Deco HQ in Marylebone.

A cathedral-style oak front door opens into a double-height entrance lobby, offering a fantastic sense of arrival.

The stand-out feature of each home is a glass atrium and retractable glass roof for stargazing. Living rooms and bedrooms on three levels surround this central atrium, while on the top floor, a “sky bridge” links two sides of the house.

There is a rear entrance linked to a car park, offering security and privacy.

The project is by architects Dixon Jones — also responsible for the Royal Opera House revamp — and interiors specialist Darling Associates.

Peter Wood, the insurance tycoon who made Direct Line’s red telephone brand a household name, is behind the scheme.

Wood bought the building, where DJs included Tony Blackburn and John Peel, amid fierce competition and says he plans more such central London schemes, aiming to sell to people who will live in the homes rather than to absentee overseas investors. Prices start at £11.5 million. Visit W One for more details.