Drakefell House

One of the key drivers for this Victorian house ground floor extension project was the client. A family of four, including two pre-teen daughters, with a vibrant social life and a truly cosmopolitan circle of friends, needing a substantial expansion of their kitchen and communal areas overlooking a mature, south facing garden.

We spent many hours in meetings, dinners and tea-breaks getting to know them, looking at how they occupied and inhabited their spaces, how they liked to move through the house, discussing how they cook and eat and entertain and use the garden. The existing conservatory at the back was at the end of its useful life and no longer suited their lifestyle. The design development of the new extension responded to two principal aims: making best use of the available footprint and ensuring that natural light in the space would be maximised as much as practicable.

The new space is enveloped around the existing cloakroom, taking advantage of the structural support afforded by the existing brick walls and providing on one side access to a generous kitchen-diner opening directly into the garden, on the other side a private nook for reading, listening to music and contemplation. The two areas are at different levels and are separated by an angled wall, articulating the interstitial space and incorporating a large, timber framed internal aperture for visual continuity. The existing window to the cloakroom now overlooks this private space and has been replaced by tinted glass bricks giving it a very personal, distinctive  touch.

Three large rooflights flood both spaces with natural light and have been located above the three key activity areas – the cooking, the dining and the relaxing. Next to the glazed sliding folding doors leading into the garden, a separate window was located to provide a continuous work and display surface from the inside to the outside, celebrating the family connectedness with nature and joyful passion for entertaining their friends, cooking al fresco and throwing awesome parties.

vitua architects worked closely with us from the outset – understanding our family lifestyle and aesthetic preferences as well as our budget constraints – which really helped shape the initial concepts.  Early sketches brought the ideas to life, and vitua were great at taking our feedback on board and incorporating it into further design iterations.  As the building work commenced, our contractors used vitua’s  ‘materials specification’ which gave us confidence that our extension would comply with construction best practice, and vitua’s regular site visits ensured that the original design and specification was delivered to perfection.  8 years later, we continue to enjoy the new space and it has made a huge difference to our household’s lifestyle.
Jo & Jake