The Prow

A couple with three young children urgently needed space. But expansion of their Victorian mid-terrace in a Lewisham Conservation Area was constrained by a small footprint and budget. Making use of a narrow, but unusually deep, garden plot MOST developed a generously long rear extension.

The design is led by the external door frames forming a striking ‘prow’, in which the two central glass panels slide outwards to create a semi-outdoor living space. This acts as a winter garden or a canopied terrace in summer. The pivot is cantilevered by a truss, serving as a clerestory window frame and fusing the flat and inclined rooflines. Dispensing with a column at the outmost point of the extension allows for seamless interlocking of inside and outside.

Light and shadow analysis was key throughout. In plan and elevation the angles protect the neighbours’ access to natural light. And the large sliding glass doors, both create space and form an expansive inlet for daylight and sunsets. The flat part of roof has a sedum layer, creating attractive views for the spaces above and compensating for the section of garden replaced by the extension.

The inclined part reflects the pitch of the closet wing roof. Given the extended length of the new space, a challenge was how to focus light beyond the boundary of the extension deep into the interior. Large conical skylights draw and expand light onto a softened triangle, pebble-like breakfast island, making the most of the south-western aspect.

The island is generous enough for a family to gather, or be used as a temporary work spot. A fiddle-leaf fig reaches from the island’s circular centre toward the skylight cone.

Annual CO2 emissions data (requested in kg/m2/year) was provided as follows: 1200 kg CO2eq/year