TUFNELL PARK

INFORMATION

Our client approached us with a brief to completely reimagine a grand Victorian terrace house they were looking to purchase, with a clear desire to produce a dramatic and unusual home for a young, growing family.

The existing house had been unaltered for over fifty years and a complete redesign was required in order to create a large open plan living, kitchen, dining and entertainment space, as well as providing utility spaces, a cloakroom and a first floor master bedroom suite, including a bedroom, ensuite and dressing room.

Our response to their brief was to remove the existing network of small rooms to the rear of the house and lower the suspended timber floors by as much as two metres to match the garden level. Two extensions were added to the rear of the building. The first infills the side return with a London stock brick facade and glazed roof and the second takes the form of a black metal pavilion, glazed on three sides and centred on the garden elevation. This unique addition resets the building’s relationship with the garden creating an interior space immersed in the landscape. 

The five-metre-tall dining area forms a dramatic transition space from the original entrance hall into the new part of the building. A huge circular cast-glass window forms a visual connection between the old and the new, allowing light and animation through the house.

The design includes a series of black metal objects distributed throughout the scheme: the circular metal window, the metal stair, the circular column and the Crittall garden pavilion - collectively forming a series of new interventions that signify change to the property.

The result is a dramatic transformation of the existing property, adding valuable floor area whilst creating a range of large, light spaces for entertaining and family life.