9240
Our client came to us with a house that had a number of problems that they asked us to address in order to make the house into their perfect family home.
Clarence Road is located within one of St Albans most well preserved conservation areas. The property is a substantial locally listed Edwardian house with many striking original features.
Explore how we transformed this property to create a contemporary extension.
Our clients, an older couple whose children were in the process of leaving home purchased the house with a clear mindset that it had some fundamental problems that needed to be addressed. The property had not had any major refurbishment works carried out in over half a century.
The lack of connection with the outdoors both visually and physically formed a real disconnect with the mature rear garden and did not reflect modern domestic living patterns.
The age of the house also meant that it was thermally poor with no wall, roof or floor insulation and the original single glazed sash windows. This resulted in the house being cold and dark in certain areas.
The house also lacked a space that would allow the family to host and entertain, large gatherings something they did regularly. This was a key driver for the project. The design of the extension was to be unashamedly modern in contrast to the Edwardian character of the existing house.
Our design solution sought to address all of these issues and give them a home that they could comfortably live in.
A modest sized extension was designed to capitalise on the views of the garden and bring in natural light.
Being mindful that the orientation of the extension is west facing, which would encounter the hot afternoon sun, we incorporated solar glass to reduce the chance of overheating in those summer months.
This extension has given our client that large space to be able to occupy not only as a family but also entertain friends. An existing poorly constructed utility room was retrofitted with insulation applied to the wall and in the roof.
The utility room extension was built using the bricks from the rear of the house that was
opened up. This meant that the appearance of the front of the house was uniform in appearance.
To create a contrast with the original house the rear
extensions were designed as clean lined rectilinear black boxes, utilising Shou Sugi Ban charred timber
cladding. Installing it on a diagonal line and then
framing it with an black Aluminium trim creates a
sharp clean line contrasting against the pebbledash of the original house.
Internally a continuous pane of glass transforms a window to a rooflight giving uninterrupted views of the mature trees in the garden.
The structurally cantilevered corner allows the sliding doors to open the corner of the house onto the garden which coupled with the flush thresholds
creates a fluidity with the outdoor spaces.