Cross House

The front façade of the property has a number of unique features that the clients fell in love with when they first saw the property. The rear of the property however was not suitable for modern family life so the brief to the architect was to update this area with an open plan living/kitchen area and replace the existing garage with a playroom, wet room, utility, and rear entrance. The completed extension transforms the rundown rear facade and obsolete spatial layout into an open-plan, indoor/outdoor space with sight lines between the playroom and kitchen. In addition to the spatial reconfiguration the design also attempts to translate the Gothic Victorian language of the front façade into contemporary forms at the rear. The most prominent of these is a 3-meter-high lattice crittall window which is a homage to James Harrison. The shapes and proportions of the pattern derived from the cross, chevron, and triangle shapes of the ground floor front windows. The window patter is also reminiscent of diamond lead light windows that feature in James Harrison's church designs. The glazing system comprises 5 equal panels, 4 of which form a 9 meter long, 4 track sliding system that allows the back wall of the house to open. At a much smaller scale, the triangle shapes were incorporated into a bespoke profile oak panel for the wall and kitchen joinery. Complimenting the oak is a simple material palette of microcement, Caesarstone, and the exposed brickwork of the original wall. The oak and cement finishes extend into the courtyard, and the tropical planting is brought into the interior space to blur the line between inside and out.