The Red House
Subscribe now to instantly view this image
Subscribe to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) for instant access to the AJ Buildings Library, an online database of nearly 2,000 exemplar buildings in photographs, plans, elevations and details.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Glass extension beside the Grand Union Canal
Designers Collaborative Download Original
Fully glazed two-storey extension to an 18th century canal-side home
This two-storey glass extension sits between the existing listed 18th century house and the adjacent Grand Union Canal. The design brief was to create a glazed structure with minimal interruption from the framing.
The large glazed panel sizes are dictated by dimensions of the slender steel frame and are nominally 2,450mm high x 2250mm wide on the west elevation, and 2,450mm high by 3,400mm wide on the south elevation.
The glass box is constructed using the Technal Trame system, in which the horizontal support is set back from the outer glazed surface of the double glazing unit, leaving the only horizontal manifestation of the transom as a silicone joint. The vertical mullion caps are in the form of a ‘T’ to minimise the visual impact of the cap. The corners are glass-to-glass, with overlapping outer panes.
Large sliding doors on the west elevation provide the openings overlooking the canal. The openings are conceived as ‘cuts’ made in the outer membrane: the plane of the outer surface is maintained with the balcony glazing and glass overpanels, and the sliding doors are set behind this plane. Electrically controlled venetian blinds provide privacy.
Data
- Begun: Feb 2005
- Completed: Dec 2008
- Floor area: 94m2
- Sector: House
- Address: Hillingdon, Uxbridge, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Designers Collaborative
- Project architect: Michael Wigginton
- Client: Private
- Structural engineer: Whitbybird