A Tuscan Veranda

We drew on the Italianate style of the terraced house using classic, perfectly proportioned Romanesque arches for framed views through house and garden. The repeated form drew on Raphael's Pillars of Knowledge. The space between is set for conversation: a relaxed, light, gathering space and a table as the centrepiece of family and intellectual life for sharing food and ideas.

The design's narrative is personal and site-specific, its clarity enabled a simple and unique response to a standard kitchen extension brief, evoking both Classical architecture via its Victorian Italianate cousin and modern day Tuscan sunlit long meals.

The design responds to modern approaches to our homes: kitchens as gathering space with improved access to the garden. The kitchen, previously small with no room for a table and disconnected from the garden, is now the focus of the house, light and socially driven.

We used simple structure and traditional construction for longevity and to manipulate the build for lower cost/environmental impact. We used blockwork where possible; smaller panels of glass (everything able to be lifted by hand reducing contractor risk and cost); reclamation of materials, eg retained London stock brick from the previous structure. Timber is sustainably sourced. Insulation levels exceed minimum standards. The work is part of wider renovation.

Annual CO2 data was not provided