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Project Details:

Location: London, England

Architect: VATRAA / @vatraa_architecture

Footprint: 1,500 square feet

Builder: IC Construction Services Ltd

Structural Engineer: Constant SD

Photographer: Jim Stephenson / @clickclickjim

From the Architect: “To promote well-being, a family of five approached VATRAA to reconfigure their property for a strong connection with the garden and optimized internal functionality. Their sustainability goals included switching to an air source heat pump, adding PV panels, and reusing as many existing materials as possible. Additionally, the design had to integrate the client’s passions for art and music, incorporate their existing designer furniture, and be pet-friendly.

“The project came at a time when more and more houses require reconfigurations based on previously designed extensions. In our case, there was a loft, which we did not change for cost reasons, and a side return extension, which was not properly connected to the garden. The main challenge of the project was to redesign the rear extension in a way that not only created a seamless inside-outside connection but also made the existing loft appear as if it had always been part of the design.

“The project is an example of a contextual design achieved with limited use of ‘new’ resources. We started with the idea to fully reclaim all bricks from the existing extension, and reuse them in the new envelope. However, some bricks could not be saved, and in some parts we completed with reclaimed stock bricks from other London sites. We then stained the bricks to match the existing loft slates and give the sensation the loft was always ‘as part of the design’, although we did not even touch it. In shape, the Victorian pitched roof angles inspired the angled frameless glazing of the extension and the angles of the garden planters. The garden pavers were fully reused and relayed in a new pattern. Together with the loft slates and the extension stain brick, they create a total unity in a design sensitive to the context and respectful of the environment.

“Design elements, such as garden framing through strategically positioned openings and incorporation of green roof encourage a type of living connected to nature.The ground floor extension is shaped to frame a different garden view from each window. The garden, designed by VATRAA and planted by the client, becomes part of the interior.”