Fulham SW6, London

The project was for a complete refurbishment of a small two bedroom house in Fulham, London. The existing house, was located in a conservation area and although it was listed as a ‘building of merit’, it had suffered from a series of insensitive additions to the rear of the property in the seventies. 

Following a number of successful dialogues with the council, planning permission was granted for the new proposal. This represents a more sensitive intervention to the rear of the property by articulating the original footprint of the building which had walls of brick construction, from the evolving alterations which are expressed in white render. The rear elevation is simplified with a mono pitch structural glazed roof concealed behind a parapet which aligned with the rear façade and allowed vistas of the existing building fabric uninterrupted by structural beams. Retractable folding sliding glazed doors create a dialogue between the house and the timber decked garden and further blur the distinction between internal and external spaces.  

The internal organisation of the ground floor unites the kitchen and the dining spaces which benefit from the increase in natural light and volume. The kitchen has a number of concealed storage facilities and includes a mobile preparation unit to increase layout flexibility. The dining and living spaces are provided with continuous full height cupboards, with discrete recessed lighting to articulate these additions from the original fabric, whilst providing soft artificial lighting to wash the soffits. 

The first floor has been refurbished to incorporate continuous full height cupboards to both bedrooms and the large bathroom re planned to include a full length low level bench to display artefacts and also provide additional storage.

The transition from the new front garden to the new rear garden, using the building as a connector, is completed by the insertion of a new ground floor throughout of 1200 x 600 birch faced ply panels.