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Threefold have completed the conversion and extension of a former care home, transforming it into an elegant and characterful family house set within within the Brockley Conservation Area in South London.
The brief called for the creation of a family home that incorporated the best aspects of the remaining period features of the original Victorian building, combined with a new extension that used modern materials to create light filled open plan living spaces that were connected to the rear garden.
The resulting project is A house With Two Faces. Where the restored street facing Victorian façade and internal fabric at the front of the house with its rich detailing and cellular room arrangement, is juxtaposed with a contemporary two storey brick extension at the rear, constructed with a pared back palette of materials and containing free flowing open plan spaces.
One of the key design drivers for the project was the concept of ‘Depth of Field’ and the connection of the two distinct sides of the building both physically and through the creation of long views that draw the eye through a series of different spaces. This approach led to the careful curation of materials, textures and tones across different parts of the house, where the threshold between the original building and the new extension is always expressed and the details and finishes in the original building are richer but the palette across old and new is always complementary.
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The Client commissioned Threefold to extend and transform their modest home in Greenwich by adding an additional floor to adapt to the changing needs of their growing family and to create a new character for the building.
Threefold’s challenge was to create an affordable, functional & flexible approach for an evolving family lifestyle and propose an unique identity for the new building which would respond to the rich mix of surrounding architectural styles.
Seeking to minimise cost, Threefold sought to maintain existing openings and keep new brickwork simple. The ground floor houses an open plan kitchen, living and dining room which opens out onto a private west facing courtyard. A 10m long joinery wall conceals niches, cupboards, a utility room and larder keeping the space clear from clutter. A dual aspect, light filled, flexible top floor space provides a second lounge, study or guest room with a full width covered terrace affording far reaching views across the London skyline and a picture window view to the hills of Blackheath to the rear.
A new refined and unified architectural language is introduced to the exterior through slim protruding metal window reveals, a slender slot marking the new staircase and new steel front door & gates to the courtyard and entrance porch. The hooded roof incorporating a chamfered profile to maximise light and views and minimise bulk of the new mass is a contemporary take on the traditional mansard and dormer window which is a defining characteristic of the surrounding context.
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Client: Confidential
Type: Residential
Area: 360sqm
Status: Completed
Location: Brockley South London