The brief asked that we create additional space to the rear of a family home that could be incorporated within the house without darkening the existing spaces and that would also retain the flow throughout the home. There was an external terrace space to the rear of the dining room that although it provided light to the rear of the existing house, was dark and damp due to it’s location and orientation. As the existing property is a two-storey Edwardian redbrick, we were also conscious that the contemporary extension should fit in and complement the existing house.

Our aim was to solve the issues outlined in the brief yet by minimising the amount of new area as the property already had a relatively large footprint. The rear garden is west facing, but the terrace was shaded by the existing two storey return. Our approach was to infill the terrace with a small extension separated by a roof-lit snug which would draw in daylight between the old and the new. We carefully chose a brick to compliment the original. We pulled it back from the return, framing the elevation and in-filled with the lighter glazing and zinc materials.