‘I sit, and everything I see is a beautiful, straight line; but if I turn I see the old, tarnished plasterwork. They inform each other - the clean looks cleaner, and the crumbly looks deliberate and appreciated. The tension is extraordinarily satisfying - it’s poised and energised.’ Ian MacNeil, client.
A glass extension to a Victorian terraced house
Notting Hill
London
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We were commissioned to replace a derelict lean-to extension with a new studio and guest room for a designer working at home. Typically for a Victorian terraced house, the floor plan is deep and narrow, limiting the amount of natural daylight entering the lower floors. Our solution was a transparent, two storey glass building, designed to strengthen the relationship of the existing house to its garden and to maximise light penetration to the interior. |
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The lightweight steel framed structure leaves the more massive form of the original house clearly legible, while carefully positioned openings allow greater visual contact between rooms. Although small in scale, the extension is spatially complex, linking three levels with interlocking double height spaces and a series of connecting balconies. |
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We developed a prototypical glazing system for this project, allowing slender steel sections to be used as both primary structure and glazing bars without problems of condensation inside. Components and finishes are simple and robust, reflecting the building’s private garden setting. . |
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‘It would have been possible to build entirely from glass, but in this context it felt wrong to us. Regardless of what was technically feasible, the structure needed to feel tougher and more durable.’
Steve Tompkins |
MCGREGOR ROAD
Client: private client
Value: £70,000
Completed Feb 2000 |
Stainless steel
Insulating glass
Transluscent glass
Derbyshire limestone
Limewashed timber
Recycled rubber flooring
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