Infill extensions are not only for enlarging interior rooms but are also a great way to make better use of awkward spaces and working with the orientation of the building as seen in this project of 2020.
The project was a large 5-bed detached house on Richmond Road in Kingston featuring Tudor Revival elements to the front and a large garden to the rear. It also featured a side extension, built in the 90’s as a utility area. It was poorly built and created a garden patio that was always shaded by the main building.
The existing kitchen was rather small for the needs of the family and did not accommodate the modern lifestyle offered by an open plan kitchen/dining/living space. Similarly, the arrangement of the rooms on the first floor seemed to be outdated, with bedrooms needing more space and additional bathrooms.
Our approach to these concerns began by reconsidering the position of the house on site and its orientation. By using infill extensions, we expanded the house to the South and West eliminating dark corners and unused outdoor areas. We carefully considered the direction of daylight and the orientation of the extension so as to have the internal spaces benefit from natural light as much as possible. At the same time, the newly extended house was designed to provide more privacy to the rear garden from the street, more options for internal arrangement of spaces, yet with minimal impact to its overall volume and to the neighbouring properties through careful considerate distancing from the boundary and positioning of openings.
With the new ground floor rear and side extension, more space was freed up to design a bright and open plan space to house the kitchen, dining and living area with direct views and access to the rear garden and a more free-flowing circulation with the inner parts of the house. Through the newly designed arrangement and new windows and doors more light now floods the interiors highlighting architectural details such as the central staircase.
From the outside the new rear extension compliments the form of the house which now also features a gable roof with dormers on both sides. The additions allow for additional spaces on the upper floors including a master bedroom with an en-suite, an additional bathroom and larger second floor rooms benefitting from the added head height. On the ground floor the utility room was redesigned and an additional study room added in the now expanded footprint, resulting in a house that not only meets the clients' needs but promotes comfortable and healthy living conditions.
