contemporary family home, winkfield
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formerly the family home of one of colony's directors, made by extensively altering and extending an existing cottage in the green belt. green belt policy strictly limits how much a house can grow, so the question was never only what to design, but how much we could secure consent for.
three planning applications unlocked the plot in stages, leading to a large side and rear extension and a new top-floor bedroom. the result is a cottage transformed into a house shaped around the way a family actually lives.
“daddy is very clever!”
designing for your own family strips away any temptation to over-complicate. every idea has to earn its place in everyday use. that discipline is what we bring to every home we design, whoever the client.
03
a room at the top
a rear box dormer (a flat-roofed extension to the roof space) creates a new top-floor bedroom. glass stair balustrades keep daylight moving down through the centre of the house instead of stopping at the landing.
02
corners that open
the glazed corners of the extension open fully, so the kitchen and living space spill out into the garden. level thresholds (no step between floor and terrace) make moving between inside and outside effortless for everyone in the family.
01
three steps to consent
green belt rules cap how far an existing house can be enlarged. we took the house forward through three applications, each building on the last, until the plot's full potential had been secured.
