ABOUT

There are not many undiscovered properties ripe for redevelopment left in North Kensington in London, so the buyers of this house were very excited to uncover this gem in the beautiful Oxford Gardens conservation area. They had found a large family house, cluttered by furniture and partitions, lacking light and warmth, and feeling slightly musty. Their brief for Sophie Nguyen Architects was to clean up and clarify the existing space, re-find the dignity of the impressive interior volumes, and let the light in. Their house needed to accommodate their busy twenty first century lifestyle whilst reaching a challenging balancing act between classic style and functionality.
The clients wanted also an extension but were keen to avoid a standard response of a glass shoebox, attached like a limpet to the rear façade.

Sophie Nguyen Architects decided to create a new single storey building extending the whole width of the main house. In the first instance, the local building authorities did not consider the whole width concept as an acceptable project. But the studio worked through a number of options and carefully liaised with the local authorities to be fully compliant with the conservation area policies.
Planning permission was successfully granted without objection to the final full width scheme, which included a fully glazed façade, a double-pitched roof and, and a single pitch glass roof.

The Client comments on completion: ‘We are absolutely delighted of our collaboration with Sophie and the results speak for themselves. She helped created an extraordinary space that is making us happy every day!’