Repoussoir

The terraced London house with rear extension is a familiar typology. This project involved an intervention including a ground floor rear/side extension, internal reconfiguration and a lowered garden.

We avoided adding a large roof extension to the historic property that would dominate the roofscape, and present it as insensitive to the character of the area. Rear external walls and internal partitions to the ground floor were removed, dissolving the threshold between inside and outside. To maintain this connection, we introduced a striking structural solution of interconnecting, perpendicular black steel frames, with infill frameless roof glazing and glazed aluminium bi-fold doors forming the primary building envelope, altogether maximising light passages.

The use and retention of brick throughout the property maintains warmth and connection to the existing historic structure. The new steel features provide tension that contrasts with and acts as a foil or repoussoir to the existing building, enhancing its traditional, monolithic nature. The resultant home is a remarkable series of living spaces, totally unexpected behind the otherwise polite Victorian street façade.

Client

Private

Completion

2019

Location

Clapham, Lambeth, London

Images

Simone Bossi