Opening, Light, Continuity

The project began with a modest but fundamental problem. The existing extension occupied much of the garden edge yet failed to establish any meaningful relationship with it. Circulation cut through every room, furniture placement was constrained, and the sequence of spaces lacked clarity or coherence. Despite its size, the house felt fragmented and enclosed.

The proposal worked through careful adjustment rather than wholesale expansion. A simple one metre extension to the side and rear restructured the plan entirely, allowing the internal arrangement to settle into three clear and connected spaces: kitchen, dining and living. The existing corridor was removed and the utility spaces consolidated into a more compact and efficient arrangement.

The new living spaces open directly onto the garden through a continuous glazed façade. A deep 1200mm overhang extends the threshold outward, providing shelter from both rain and summer sun while reinforcing the sense of the garden as part of the daily life of the house. A built-in window seat creates a place to sit at the edge of inside and outside throughout the year.

Although north-facing, the extension draws daylight deep into the plan through two large rooflights positioned to capture both direct sunlight and diffuse hemispherical light. The result is a calm, open interior organised through proportion, light and continuity rather than excess floor area.

Externally, the extension presents a simple and unified form to the garden. The intervention is compact, but it transforms how the house is inhabited.