Cyprus Street

From the 1840s when a typical Victorian terraced house featured each room as an enclosed, individual space, to the 2000s typical modernisation with one homogeneous open-plan space; in 2019 we extended the open-plan house further, to include its garden.

Based on the historic layout, we re-define spaces and introduced individual character and qualities to them. A transition logic, from dark to bright, enclosed to open, manmade and nature, created gradients and contrasts from inside to outside, and therefore enhanced the character of each individual space.

This design focuses on differentiating functions and quality of each space within the house and garden while re-linking them with a gradient logic. The existing building fabric was carefully modified to create a continuous transition of light, colour, and material from the entrance to the back of the garden. Because the plot is relatively small, in this way the extension proposal includes the garden within its internal logic hence makes use of the whole site.

An inconveniently angled garden wall was turned into a feature becoming a stage for the garden extension. Solar gains through new glazed areas help preserve energy. Demolished bricks were re-used and cost-effective pedestrian concrete pavers create a distinctive landscape feature. Overall, the modern extension works together with the rustic Victorian building fabric and together they create a modern ruin aesthetics.

Annual CO2 emissions data was not provided.