A House for a Gardener

The project reorganises the ground-floor layout and creates a sequence of living spaces around the garden and an internal courtyard that allows constant connection to greenery on a tight urban site. It was important that the extension didn't feel like an add-on, but rather sat in harmony with the existing house.

Oak-clad beams span the breadth of the extended kitchen/dining area to set up a rhythm that draws all views towards the garden, which can be accessed through sliding glass doors. Expressing these structural elements became fundamental to the design. Installing the insulation above the exposed oak beams, instead of between, has maximised floor-to-ceiling height and enhances the feeling of space – essential due to the planning restrictions imposing a 1.2m maximum extension height. In a unifying spatial gesture, the oak cladding extends seamlessly out into a large bay-window seat that projects over a fishpond and the garden.

The design revolves around the garden and the inclusion of a new winter garden that not only offers an unexpected green space in the heart of the home but connects old and new spaces, joining the new kitchen / dining space with the study and lounge at the front of the house.

Below an entirely glazed roof, the winter garden draws light and greenery into the heart of the ground floor. Glass swing doors allow it to be combined or separated in a ‘broken-plan’ layout that gives flexibility to the use of space, and opens up sight lines to both gardens from the entrance hall. Automated skylights regulate the temperature of the courtyard winter garden and an irrigation system installed in the garden ensures that the plants are taken care of.

Annual CO2 data was not provided