Brick and Glass – the Yin and Yang of Extensions

The combination of materials meant that each household maintains a sense of privacy at home while also expanding their space.

Yin –An Indian Retreat. The build was focused on use of brick and expanding the space for the family. The entire house was remodelled while maintaining original details like the front door, hallway floor, main bannister rail, and the original fireplaces.

A rear dormer extension is apparent on the top floor with the addition of a new bedroom and bathroom. In blending the extension seamlessly into the house, the architect decided to add integrated windows, facing on to the garden. The windows slope with the roofline and continue from the hallway into the bedroom, creating a wall of light in the dormer extension.

Yang – Morocco in London. The build was focused around the concept of a sunroom and glass elements. With the addition of a glass extension, Morocco in London can bring in light without being overlooked due to the brick wall of An Indian Retreat.

The extension is a unification of workspace, reading nook, and kitchen space while surrounded by plants and flowers. Between the two homes, the fence was knocked down during the renovations, and a row of bricks was inlaid on the ground to define the demarcation of properties. This space is now a shared communal space providing more space for external amenities and storage.

The two homes couldn’t look more different inside but now they share a kinship of architecture within the contrasting facets of each extension and a newly formed shared space. This is the future of home renovation when neighbours come together to increase value and quality of living and community.