Can you retrospectively redefine the functionality and appearance of an unsympathetic extension to a traditional home? 

[Y/N] Studio were asked by the property owners to investigate the potential for an extension to their home. The property is a semi-detached four bedroom cottage next to Gold Hill Common in Buckinghamshire. While it remains one of the oldest buildings in the village, the cottage has been unsympathetically extended over the years and is now made up of several incongruous volumes of differing styles, including a volume that oversails the ground floor of the neighbouring property.

To reunite the character of the home, a new extension that compliments the original character of the house is proposed. A simple pitched form extends the existing tiled roof towards the rear garden both reinventing the identity to the rear of the home and providing the opportunity for improved new bedroom spaces.

Internally, special attention is directed towards improved circulation within and between floors, including better access to the garden. The solution presents itself as a redesigned entrance area that leads towards an extension at the back of the cottage. Featuring new skylights, the kitchen and dining area becomes a bright open plan communal space that faces onto the garden. This will improve the connection to the outdoor area both visually and physically as well as to the existing ancillary spaces. At first floor, a well lit ‘bridge’ in a new triple height lobby connects the old cottage to the newer spaces. Opening the pitched roof void internally will give a sense of the character of the original cottage’s layout from within.

Externally a simple and complimentary material palette has been selected to ensure new blends with old in a seamless way. Painted brick, white render and red clay tiles continue the original materiality of the cottage and present a more unified and improved appearance to neighbours from all sides.