When people talk of extending their terraced house the usual conversation moves quickly past what is to be demolished, and instead focusses on what to do with the extra space. We felt sorry for all of the fireplaces that have been sacrificed by the open-plan movement. We wanted to bring back the hearth as the centre of the home.



       We developed a number of plan arrangements which we tested with the client and resoved ourselves to creating a long gallery of built-in storage tucked in behind the retained chimney stack.




        What resulted was a quality of space that was unique. We designed a cast concrete hearth which doubled window seat, taking advantage of a slim fixed window.





        Our concept of broken space continued to the exterior where we wanted to fragment the façade, yet retain the language of the original openings. A slender brickwork pier frames the new extension. 




        As a full house refurbishment we carefully went about our mission to create new character - retaining old where possible, adding new when needed. Salvaging the original Edwardian french doors we transplanted them into a new flowing arrangement of rooms; timber floorboards were limewashed; charcoal tiles were used in the bathrooms; a feature copper rainwater downpipe and hopper were chosen to age over time, blending with the brickwork.






Structural engineer: Foster Structures
Contractor: Vim Partners
Building Control: Southwark Council