Newhaven Extension

The one and a half storey lean-on extension replaces an existing garage and consists of two volumes with perpendicular focal points. The ground floor volume is opened up horizontally resulting in an open plan room which stretches from the trees of the park to the water of the bay. The triple pitched roof of the first floor volume is opened up vertically via a large sky light which frames the ever changing atmospheric conditions while keeping this part of the extension private.

A newly formed corridor connects the existing entrance hall to the extended ground floor. The end of the corridor is indirectly flooded with natural light and the threshold between old and new is marked with a step up and a framed down ceiling rendering the extension as an inset into the existing geometry of the dwelling.

The master bedroom is extended with an en-suite at first floor level. The entire lower half of the room is tiled up to head height while the upper half sloping towards the sky light is kept white to distribute the light throughout the space. The texture of the marble tiles sculpts the floor, walls and in-build table into a sole basin.

The exterior of the main house is finished in sandstone. With the open ground floor of the extension, only the roof finished in black zinc adds a materiality to the overall ensemble with surrounding garden and boundary walls.

Photography by Francesco Mariani Photography