Studio Octopi . photos: © Jim Stephenson . + divisare
A Victorian terrace house in south west London is extended with a new basement level and rear extension.
_
The basement extends under the entire footprint of the existing house. The stair extension and lightwells to the front and back sit outside the line of the existing property. The bedroom and playroom are linked by a passageway with profiled walls and a dropped acoustic ceiling. The guest room door sits flush with the wall linings. In the guest room, grey laminate on plywood joinery conceals a fold-down bed. Off the passageway is the shower room and utility room. All the rooms are linked by a consistency in materials, polished concrete floor and tones of grey walls and joinery. The shower room is finished in glass mosaics with a concrete shower tray.
The new stair is precast concrete to match the floor. Working to extremely tight tolerances the stair extension has a glazed pivot door to the garden and a double height frameless glass window to the rear lightwell and decked terrace. In the basement below the stair, a small space that might otherwise have been forgotten has become a piano room for the children. The extension is clad in bronze coloured zinc, with a living roof, rooflight and acoustic ceiling to limit noise transfer between kitchen and basement. The kitchen is connected to the deck with new SkyFrame glazed doors. A hardwood decked bridge crosses the rear lightwell to give access to the garden.
The new basement avoids the usual pitfalls of typical residential basement extensions. There are no dark lobbies or dead ends, increased openness, high ceilings and natural lighting. House 13’s basement flows freely from the ground floor extension, seamlessly integrating with the existing house. A beautiful tranquil space in its own right within this busy family home.
