UK practice Cousins & Cousins Architects has added a timber and glass extension to a semi-detached house in north London. The design team was asked to improve the existing layout of the De Beauvoir House in Hackney and add a two-storey rear extension to provide the extra space needed by the clients’ growing family.
As such, the rear extension, a lightweight structural glulam timber insertion, frames a series of newly created modern spaces connected via a bespoke steel staircase. The staircase ascends through the centre of the building, connecting the living area on the garden level with the main entrance floor and master bedroom suite above.
“The staircase forms the new heart of the house, a meticulously detailed and sculptural point of access that defines the spaces it connects,” says Cousins & Cousins.
In granting planning permission Hackney Council praised the project for its ‘high quality lightweight design’ as well as being a ‘good example of contemporary design, incorporated into a traditional building form’ with neighbours also praising the design as sensitive and engaging whilst allowing modern design to prevail in a heritage area.
all images courtesy of Cousins & Cousins Architects