Despite numerous proposals to re-imagine the house, the quality of the building, tight floor to ceiling heights and poor acoustic properties, led us and the client to consider what a new building might achieve in terms of efficiency and future flexibility. An existing annex and pool house was retained with the new home sensitively placed to retain connectivity to these structures and context within the street.

The house responds to the local character with a subtle and as contemporary reference as the planning system allowed, the new home is formed by two gable wings linked with the new glazed circulation space.

A large open plan ground floor and external apron are reinforced by a singular palette polished concrete flooring throughout, with large sliding panels to sub-divide and close off spaces to meet changing daily needs, allow future flexibility for wider family use and entertaining. 

Whilst there was no fixed label for ‘energy use’, the thermal envelope and complex building management system meant the new home is significantly more efficient than the building it replaced.