Trinity

The existing listed house was built in 1864 and is located to the North of Edinburgh. The clients brief was to remove the existing ‘leaky’ greenhouse/conservatory extension and replace it with an extension that was not entirely constructed in glass and offered comfortable living spaces that could be used all year round. The new extension would accommodate a dining space near the adjacent kitchen and also a snug which could either be opened or closed off from the new dining space.

The main design strategy was to divide the accommodation into two distinct spaces. One is the snug, which is small and enclosed unlike the dining area which is open, light and transparent with its glass walls allowing the existing mature landscaped garden to form the backdrop of the dining space. The location of the snug strategically acts as a visual screen or buffer, improving the level of privacy to the dining space and external terrace immediately behind.

The snug and dining room spaces have varying roof levels which help reduce the scale of the extension by breaking the form into smaller parts. Each part is then enclosed by a plane that folds down from roof level to the ground and terminates into a trough planter at the base of the walls which help nestle the extension into the landscaped garden. These elements have evolved in design terms as contemporary abstraction/interpretation of architectural elements of the original house.

Internally, the more enclosed snug has timber lined walls and ceilings with integrated joinery elements and pocket sliding door. Limestone flooring used in the snug, dining area and external terrace helps unify the various spaces.

Externally local ashlar stone has been incorporated with edge widths matching the roof profile to achieve continuity of the ‘planar’ theme. Recessed wall areas are finished in timber cladding finished with a translucent woodstain. Floor to ceiling glass around the dining space benefits from a generous roof overhang to the Southerly aspect.