What on Earth Is Wrapping Around This London Home

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Project Details:

Location: London, United Kingdom

Footprint: 344 square feet

Architect: [Y/N] Studio / @ynstudioarchitects

Builder: John Goudie

Structural Engineer: Simple Works

Photographer: French + Tye / @frenchandtye

From the Architect: "[Y/N] Studio was asked to consider how to extend and improve a traditional Victorian terraced family house in Hackney. The project explores how a contemporary rooftop extension can sit comfortably within its historic context while improving the environmental performance of the home through the considered use of natural, renewable, and recycled materials.

"Despite a simple external form, the new spaces are organied to maximize light and volume. A new L-shaped staircase is introduced to the center of the plan, creating a double-height lobby illuminated by a large skylight above. This vertical space brings daylight deep into the house and forms the spatial focus of the extension.

"The upper level accommodates a primary bedroom with exposed timber soffits and bespoke timber paneling that incorporates an integrated dressing table. A study is located beneath the pitch of the existing roof, with a desk positioned under the slope and an internal window overlooking the double-height stair. A compact shower room is naturally lit by a skylight.

"Externally, the dormer walls are clad in recycled plastic tiles selected for their environmental performance and their visual relationship to natural slate. New double-glazed windows are finished externally in dark gray aluminum. Internally, the loft extension is unified by a consistent palette of Douglas fir, used in wall paneling, bespoke joinery, wardrobes, exposed joists, and large-format floorboards. Other finishes are deliberately restrained—plasterboard walls, white porcelain tiles, and recycled plastic surfaces."