Concept Design | Planning

The host building is a large, early 20th century semi-detached house built in the Arts and Crafts style set within the leafy suburbs of Hampstead. The property lies within the catchment of Redington Frognal Conservation Area, and there are numerous protected trees within and around the rear garden of the property.

The foundation design and siting of the outhouse was thus key to minimise harm on the existing trees and vice versa. A ‘No Dig’ foundation system was developed which comprises of an elevated floor slab supported on small diameter screw piles driven by hand-held equipment.

The architectural form is raked down towards the garden walls to minimise its visibility from the adjoining gardens, and its main elevation lifted and fitted with large glazed elements to engage visually with the host house whilst maximising daylight penetration into the outhouse. The faceted reveals hide the thick construction of the tapered cantilever which supports the green roof that allows the outhouse to blend in with the landscape.

Dark metal standing seams cladding were chosen to compliment the dark slate roofs of the surrounding houses, and Siberian larch on the raised timber platform to match the existing timber fences. This way, a colour dialogue is created with the surrounding building fabric whilst using a more durable and modern material for the new proposal.