Having spent a number of years working on projects in the domestic market, designing home extensions and refurbishments, we have found that these projects were all about fixing homes that didn’t work for their owners. For one reason or another these homes didn’t perform well and were not fit for life in the 21st century. Life under lockdown during the pandemic exposed many more homes as being no longer fit for purpose, with many of us discovering that our homes weren’t large or flexible enough to accommodate working for home, homeschooling, and all the other activities which normally take place in homes. This project is case study in how a home that doesn’t work can be fixed and how the outcomes can be transformational.

When we first visited this property we found a large and pleasant home, but one with an awkward layout which resulted in an incoherent and disjointed living experience. It was evident that the house had previously been extended and refurbished over time, but that none of these former interventions had been approached in a holistic manner and therefore there was no clear organisation or hierarchy to the interior spaces, and with no dedicated circulation one had to walk through multiple rooms to get to other rooms. Furthermore, the house had a swimming pool and large garden beyond but there was little visual connection between the interior spaces and the outdoors, and the client wished for a more “Californian-style” indoor and outdoor living experience.

Our approach to these design problems was to look at the house in a holistic manner and re-imagine how the house could be reconfigured to facilitate our client’s aspirations. The design we developed involved the addition to a large contemporary timber and glass extension [shaded in light blue] and significant internal refurbishment works to improve circulation [shaded in grey]. The key design intervention was the insertion of 23-long structural glass rooflight between the existing house and the extension in order to create a bright naturally lit circulation spine that connects and unites virtually all spaces within the home. The design also features a huge set of slim-framed glazed sliding doors that which disappear into a pocket in the wall and a skeleton-like structure supporting a structural glass canopy to maximise the experience of indoor-outdoor living.

The project was recently completed and we look forward to being able to share photographs of the finished project soon.