The conventional terraced-house extension is reimagined for a North London home with an innovative addition that both celebrates and elevates the humble brick whose inherent potential as a stackablen;ve module results in a far more sculptural material expression. Using bricks reclaimed from the fabric of the house, and exploiting the rights of light diagram, resulted in a staggered, extruded form that appears to melt away from the existing structure.
This rhythmic stepping is echoed throughout the interior and is integrated in both the plan and section of the extension.
The standard layout has been flipped, with the kitchen taking its new place at the front of the house, while retaining its original features, emphasised by dark colours and material tones.
Spaces unfold in a sequence from dark to light – intensifying the bright, voluminous feel of the addition. In the centre, the dining room is marked by a change in floor treatment: narrow timber planks with aligned seams transition between the smooth concrete of the kitchen and the roughly-grained concrete of the extension. There, a light-well ensures the full depth of the plan is bright, accentuating the geometry of the concept where faceted glass meets stepped brick.
The entirely column-free space was created using laser-cut, double-direction stepped beams to support the first floor. The structure of the addition is integrated into the design from the start – working hand-in-hand to create the appearance of a first floor that is sunken into the extension.
The brick, left exposed inside and out, is celebrated in a way that respects the existing house while clearly departing from the traditional language of the historic architecture.