Private House Refurbishment in Primrose Hill

London, United Kingdom

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Private House Refurbishment in Primrose Hill

London, United Kingdom

Firm

AR Architecture

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2013

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

$100K - 500K

Photos

Catherine Hatfield (4)

This 3-bedroom 1970-s terraced house was fully refurbished and extended in order to accommodate the needs of a family with three children. The Client asked for a minimalistic contemporary design with strong emphasis on natural materials and ecological awareness.
The existing house with its simplistic exterior boasted a split-level section and an open plan layout. Aiming to emphasise these features, we replaced the stairs and added new openings between semi-levels. The new stairs were mirrored and re-designed to increase transparency. Zoning was improved by relocating the Kitchen/Breakfast area half level up to the South side of the building. From that space, light penetrates into the Living room through a huge fish tank.
Master bedroom received its share of direct sunlight through a new window facing the roof terrace and Master bathroom got a view towards the roof terrace via an ornate window into the staircase. Light pours into the latter through the glazed doors of the terrace and the new window at the roof level.
The integral garage was converted into a study, doubled as a guest bedroom. Garage doors were replaced with a rendered wall and a window following the vertical geometry of the façade. Architectural treatment was designed to support the modernist language of the building, reinstating and emphasizing its key features - the continuous black trimming and the white cornice underneath the line of the first floor.
The extension appears to be a garden pavilion rather than an indoor space. The two external walls can be fully open and the North-West corner of the roof is raised to maximize penetration of low-angle evening sunlight. The green sedum roof adds up to the concept by blending the extension into the garden.