Rotherfield Street

ATELIER BAULIER

Islington, 2023

Shortlisted

Longlisted

Having lived in this compact one-bedroom flat for several years, the clients appointed the practice to increase the size of the kitchen and create a living space directly opening onto the garden. The brief also called for the entire refurbishment of the existing flat to optimise storage and circulation. Located in the Canonbury East Conservation area, the project resulted in a 20 square metre single storey extension spanning the full width of the rear elevation. Atelier Baulier removed an existing shed and the entire rear facade at lower ground floor level to combine the new and old areas. In order to give the owners extra breathing space, the existing floor level was lowered by 30cm and the garden excavated to add a sunken patio continuing seamlessly from the living-room.

The aim was to create a bright and generous place to encourage gatherings and the celebration of everyday life. Whilst the existing services mostly remain in their former locations, the majority of partitions were taken down to consolidate the spaces and improve spatial flow. The floor plan is now articulated around a brass-clad storage volume into which the new staircase carves its way up to the bedroom at upper level. The front room is connected to the open kitchen living-room space via a secondhand set of Crittal doors sourced on eBay and refurbished to suit. Simplicity and carefully considered moves were at the forefront of the design strategy to maximise the impact of the refurbishment and deliver a project exceeding the clients' expectations.

“We always knew that so much more could be done with the space and when we met Aurore we were able to realise what we’d imagined. We wanted to connect the space with the outside; we’d always dreamed about opening the back doors to step into a lush, verdant garden. It was always about creating a calm, bright, open space that still had warmth, texture and softness; respecting the original architecture but also giving us more air and freedom to move, allowing us to have people join us for food and music and conversation. We wanted to do this with minimal impact, using recycled or natural materials where we could and ensuring all of the elements were there for a functional reason, not just for decoration, and that the space was flexible enough to allow it to change it as our lives changed.”

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