St John’s Wood

This project located in St John’s Wood, involved the extension and refurbishment of a 5 storey semi-detached townhouse. The house occupies a desirable site within a conservation area but needed refurbishment and renewal. Working with the client we identified opportunities to enhance the building and realise its full potential.

Our proposal was to rationalise the existing layouts and create a better connection to the garden through the introduction of a ‘Conservatory’ type space on the lower ground floor which following conversations with the planning department was required to be read as distinctly different to the main house. As part of this process some subtle but major alterations were carried out. Firstly, the staircase throughout the house was turned around to provide a better connection to all floors allowing the staircase to arrive on the lower ground floor facing the garden. A new circular window was added to match the neighbouring property and provide a feature within the stairwell. The entire lower ground floor was also excavated to enhance the floor to ceiling height, improving the usability and drama of the lower ground floor as well as its connection to the garden, accessed through a retractable sliding glazing system.

Subtle improvements were made throughout – All the windows were replaced; heating and lighting systems were upgraded. The building fabric was thermally upgraded, insulating the external walls, ground floor and roof, transforming the functionality and comfort of the house.

A new air conditioning system was hidden in joinery or concealed in wall voids to create a seamless aesthetic with the outdoor condensers concealed in an acoustic enclosure at the end of the garden. Underfloor heating was added throughout with seamless engineered walnut floors and Carrara marble bathrooms throughout. In the basement, the front room which had previously been the kitchen, was retained with the original floor level allowing for the creation of a cosy cinema room which was fitted out in conjunction with a specialist audio visual company.

We were responsible for the design co-ordination of several sub-contracting specialists including lighting, audio visual and landscaping– we obtained planning consent, prepared information for tendering and put forward the contractor for the project, where we were responsible for overseeing works on site.