House for A Cellist

Our client wanted to improve their existing traditional Victorian terrace house, they loved where they lived in Islington and did not want to move, but they needed more living space on the ground floor of their home. We proposed adding a rear extension, refurbishment and
reconfiguration of the traditional plan. The extension gave the additional internal space as they desired which we were able to maximise through the reconfiguration and refurbishment, making better use of the space available and upgrading the home.

As the house sits within a Conservation Area, our designs had to be sympathetic to the conditions of the site and local context, however we were keen to bring an element of individuality, reflecting the client's personality with distinctive material choices. Our designs have delivered a bright home, with distinctive design moments scattered through the house, such as the circular skylight, a pivoting pint in the layout, drawing natural light deep within the interior and creating an ideal place for our musician to practice.

The new ground floor is a single, complex, flexible and narrative space that allows for living, working, and up to four people practicing under a round roof light. This project is an extended investigation on narrative, complex, open living spaces. There are no doors or corridors on the ground floor: the entrance hall unfolds and is part of the rest of the house, navigating between an angled and a squared wood-glass box, which in turn contains all the services that a contemporary house needs. It is composed of a rectangular volume carved and modelled by a wood and glass cube - a square box (the kitchen), a triangular wooden wedge (the stair and services) and a cylinder (a deep roof light).