Transitions

Red Squirrel Architects

Lewisham, 2022

Shortlisted

This is an existing two storey semi-detached Victorian house in Forest Hill. Our clients’ aspirations were to create open and light interconnected living spaces to the rear of the house which take advantage of the private rear garden. The project includes two small rear extensions and the remodelling of the lower part of the rear elevation form a cohesive architecture. A landscaped external terrace was also created. The transformation of the property was achieved by adding only 10 square metres of additional floorspace.

The careful reconfiguration of the existing areas combined with only 10 square meters of new extensions, provides adequate space to satisfy the clients’ brief. Innovative tactics have been deployed throughout the design to emphasise these transitions. A steel pergola has been arranged on a 4-degree angle shift.

As well as providing a framework for grapevines, the pergola unifies the existing and new areas of the rear elevation. This angle is played against a reciprocating 4-degree notional line which defines the floor paving and a window seat. These shifts in angle soften the transition between inside and out, and across changes in level. The use of rich tactile materials also accentuates transitions and provides connections between internal and external spaces.

Learn more about Red Squirrel Architects

“The project celebrates the notion of transitions: from old to new; from inside to outside; from the natural to the manmade.”

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