Brought up on James Bond, Chris Oakes saw the appeal of an underground lair, but his reasons for building a 4,000squarefoot mansion nearly entirely below ground were permitrelated.

When he asked for permission to build a home on land he owned – the garden of a former mansionturnedapartment building – a local inspector turned him down saying, appeal inspection said, "and it was quite key words,” explains Oakes, “you'll never get planning for any house here which takes away the view from the street of the main house. Conservation area, period house, you won't get it."

So Oakes went underground, building huge walkon glass skylights and greenwalled sunken patios that make the space feel full of natural daylight and humidityfree. There’s a car elevator to arrive like Bond, but there’s also a small glass “folly” building that acts as an entryway for those who enter on foot by staircase.

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