Structure workplace VATRAA has reused bricks salvaged from the demolition of an present sidewall to assemble this extension to a Victorian home in north London.
The homeowners of the home within the borough of Camden had lived within the property for 15 years earlier than asking VATRAA to design a rear extension housing a brand new kitchen and eating space.
The mission’s principal goal was to introduce a practical and up to date addition that respects the unique options of the Victorian home.
An present sidewall extension was demolished to create area for the 16-square-metre wraparound construction, which makes use of the salvaged bricks to create a vertical sample on the brand new facade.
“We required the contractor to undertake the demolition with care with a view to reclaim all bricks from the aspect and rear partitions, which have been then used to construct the extension,” architect Bogdan Rusu informed Dezeen.
The matching bricks assist the brand new addition to enhance the prevailing facade, whereas the extension’s pitched roof references a bit of the unique constructing’s roofline.
The brand new quantity is angled to face probably the most engaging portion of the backyard and to permit for a aspect door offering on a regular basis entry to exterior.
A big opening containing easy sliding doorways maximises pure mild and views of the north-facing backyard.
The mission temporary known as for an “all-white” inside with accents of color, so VATRAA integrated a round blue window on the centre of the gabled facade.
“The spherical window with its blue stained glass is the one color insertion,” Rusu identified. “By matching the color of the opposite stained glass home windows discovered within the authentic constructing, it brings power into the area whereas reconnecting the brand new and the previous.”
The inside encompasses a pared-back palette, combining whitewashed brick with different mild supplies that contribute to the intense and spacious really feel.
“Whereas respecting the white palette, we performed with completely different textures and patterns,” Rusu added, “together with hexagonal tiles, rectangular bricks and mobile beams that carry character and react within the presence of pure mild.”
The metal mobile beams are used to assist separate the brand new extension from the unique constructing, each structurally and visually.
The round holes within the beams additionally enable mild to penetrate and lend the area a definite identification.
VATRAA was based in 2018 by Anamaria Pircu and Bogdan Rusu. The studio focuses on utilizing a mission’s constraints as a catalyst for artistic problem-solving, leading to characterful buildings which are tailor-made to their customers’ necessities.
Longlisted for rising structure studio of the 12 months on the Dezeen Awards 2021, VATRAA’s earlier initiatives embrace an award-winning London council home renovation that includes pink-toned plaster partitions and an outsized window.