About us
Finding your dream home is a huge achievement. But a dream home rarely remains that forever. Over time, our lifestyles change and our homes must adapt. A 21st-century home must be all things to its owners: a place to work, to entertain, to raise a growing family and to grow older. If you don’t want to move, your home must improve.
A single-storey extension is a way around these changes in your life. Adding more space to the side or rear of your home – or both – is a necessary luxury that will work hard to play different roles as your needs evolve. A skilled architect with knowledge of your way of life, your future plans and your neighbourhood will help develop your space to accommodate your present and your future.
Projects
Full renovation of a family home, exploring the connection between living spaces
The Scenario House, Stoke Newington during NLA Open house event
Starting your London project
London Architects Your London project
Most building projects in London require approval from the local authority. London architects can help you through the process, collaborating with council officials to see through your application. Scenario Architects has successfully steered clients through the permissions stage.
We’ve drawn up an illustrated synopsis to help guide you through the planning process for a London-based renovation, restoration, addition or new-build.
Focal Shift fire place, first project as local architects in Hackney E9
The Scenario House, Stoke Newington during NLA Open house event
2017
Your Single Storey Extension project
We launched Scenario in 2007 with a vision to adapt heritage architecture to 21st-century living. A highly functional home is the product of a deep understanding of the ways in which homeowners engage with their space. We work in close collaboration with our clients to make sure their needs sit at the forefront of every tailor-made design.
Our landmark project Scenario House demonstrates our commitment to the modern needs of homeowners today. The home was shortlisted for a RIBA London Award in 2018.
If you are thinking about starting an architectural project in London, be it a renovation, or an extension to an existing property or even a new build house we are here to help.
We created a brief and illustrated overview of the process to help you understand what to expect through the various stages of a residential, extension, renovation or new build project in London.
Most projects need planning permission from your local council.
TIP: To find out the actual track record which any architects you may be considering has with your local council, go to the planning application search page on your local council’s website and use the search by agent option.
Tip
Working with Scenario Architecture on your London project
London Architects Your London project
Our boutique studio specialises in residential architecture, offering bespoke services for home additions, renovations and new-builds. Based in Wandsworth, we practice across London and beyond.
A RIBA Chartered Practice, Scenario complies with the UK’s strict health and safety criteria. We collaborate closely with our clients throughout every stage of the process, from the design phase, through planning and construction. We aim to deliver every project on time and on budget.
Our skilled team works with the latest 3D design technology: real-time digital visualisations and virtual reality. We feel they are the most effective and efficient tools for seeing through our work, choosing fittings and simulating natural light.
This Chartered Institute of Building case study features a recent Scenario project, demonstrating the benefits of advanced technologies in designing for the domestic sphere.
Working with Scenario Architecture on your London project
Established in 2007, Scenario Architecture is a boutique architecture studio focused on the high-end residential sector, working extensively throughout and around London. We specialise in every scale and type of domestic project, from interior alterations, through full renovations and refurbishments to new build homes. We offer a full bespoke architecture service tailored to fit your requirements and aspirations.
Our friendly and highly skilled team has the knowledge, experience and expertise necessary to take you step-by-step through the challenging and exciting journey of creating your new home. We will work together with you in close collaboration from initial design, through detail design and planning all the way to tender, construction and successful completion of your project on time and within budget.
Scenario Architecture is an RIBA Chartered Practice, which essentially means that we are compliant with the RIBA (Royal Institute of Chartered Architects) strict criteria, covering insurance, health and safety and quality management systems.
As early adopters of latest technology, we use as a standard for all projects a verity of innovative 3D design and visualisation tools to create and communicate design with our clients. Our experience shows that Real-Time visualisations and Virtual Reality tours are extremely powerful tools to streamline the process of choosing material finishes fixtures and fittings as well as simulating realistic natural light conditions.
When we produce accurate and reliable construction information we use the latest 3D BIM technology, (BIM stands for Building Information Modelling) which means that all project information is derived from a single accurate and coordinated 3D model. Using this cutting-edge technology collaboratively with other consultants as well as contractors has proven to save time and cost for our clients.
A case study featuring one of our projects was published by the Chartered Institute of Building, demonstrating the great benefits of this advanced technology specifically with domestic projects.
Scenario Architecture in London deliver design and architectural expertise for residential projects. We were established in 2007 by Ran Ankory and Maya Carni who both trained with the AA School of Architecture. Scenario have grown to an award-winning team of nine. We have been featured in Dezeen and Elle Decoration UK.
Our highly experienced team of architects Stoke Newington work with clients using innovative 3D and Virtual Reality technology that simulates your new home before the first brick is even laid. This simulation technique allows you to see beautiful scenarios, designed to fit your life. An organic process, it often influences the choice of materials and design methods.
If you are looking for a top architects London, we can help with your project. We are a RIBA Chartered Practice and we operate across the following areas and postal districts: Camden, Dalston, Hackney, Hampstead, Highgate, Haringey, Islington, East London, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Chelsea, Mayfair, Notting Hill, North London, West London, West Hampstead, Shoreditch, Southwark, Stoke Newington, N1, N6, NW3, N16 and E5.
Full-width extension opens to the beautiful garden of this Victorian property
Complete renovation and extension of a family home
A glazed roof draws daylight deep into the plan
Scenario is an established architecture practice focusing on contemporary residential design. We take on projects of every scale and scope, from home refurbishment, renovation and expansions to new-builds.
Victorian renovations are more compassionate today than they’ve ever been, with homeowners striving to preserve architectural elements like decorative cornicing, ceiling roses, skirting boards and dada rails. Sash windows are being replaced by specially made wood reproductions and wood-burning fireplaces recouped after being sealed off for decades. Paint companies like Farrow & Ball have built multinationals out of replicating the de rigueur colours of Victorian times. And new tile ceramicists are bringing back traditional motifs with contemporary silhouettes, for front gardens and foyers. Hardwood floors have made a comeback, with timber salvage and reproduction going strong.
Most renovations focus on transforming the core of the home, and revolutionise the kitchen and bathrooms in the process. To recoup the extra floor area today’s families have become accustomed to, London architects are extending into voids in the lofts and side returns common in Victorians. Small period kitchens can open up into the side return without eradicating period features; in the recovered space, a corner can be reserved for a powder room or utility room. Ditto the loft: pushing up the ceiling and pushing out dormer windows can make new space available for an en suite bathroom.
With extending out into dead space comes the welcoming in of natural light. Upward-facing Velux windows become possible once the upper floor is properly extended and the main floor pushed out beyond the confines of the original footprint. If a second-storey extension is permitted in your plans, an internal void can bring natural light from the top floor downwards, and vice versa.
London Architects In our clients words
We wanted to renovate our house in a conservation area in central London. Given this involved a complete demolition and new build with an extra floor on top, getting planning approval was always going to be tricky. Scenario did an amazing job on the new house 'envelope' and throughout the planning phase. We couldn't have wished for better from them and having succeeded in gaining planning approval owe them a very big 'thank you'. 
Scenario designed a kitchen extension for us, and we are delighted with the results. The process was well organised, planned and delivered, and the whole team were a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend them for their design, planning and project management skills. 
Worked with these guys on the internal development of our office. From start to finish they were great. They got what we wanted first time and really made working with them very easy. Their aftercare has been great too helping us deal with something that they were not involved with in the first place. Will highly recommend them to anyone. See all Google reviews
Working with Scenario Architecture
At Scenario, we tackle domestic projects of every scale and complexity, from single-storey extensions to full renovations and new-build homes. Our dynamic London studio offers a bespoke architecture service.
Our highly skilled architects collaborate closely with every client from the initial drawings, detail design and planning through tender and construction to completion – on time and on budget. If you are planning a single-storey extension, check out our portfolio of residential projects across London.
Real-time 3D design technology is the most efficient tool for seeing through a project, choosing fixtures and fittings and simulating natural light. We use innovative technology and virtual reality on all our projects. This Chartered Institute of Building case study, featuring a Scenario project, demonstrates the benefits of this advanced technology for domestic architecture. Scenario is a RIBA Chartered Practice. We comply with the strict health and safety criteria of the country’s professional body.
In our client's words
Dalston is less a defined London territory than it is a neighbourhood of like-minded people. Roughly defined in the west by the A10, the city’s oldest Roman-dug road, it floats between Clapton, Hoxton and Islington. But more than its geographical location, it expresses itself with its liberal, tolerant, international attitude.
The working-class population that first settled here in the 19th-century, rippling out from the Regents Canal, converted farmland into industrial sites and small Victorian cottages. They were joined by immigrants from multiple countries and religions, together building up a modest community outside the confines of the City of London. After a postwar slump, the neighbourhood came alive toward the end of the last century. Artists began settling here, spilling out from Hoxton and Shoreditch, seeking inexpensive post-industrial workspace, artistic freedom and places to exhibit their art. As per the rules of gentrification, young professionals and families followed. They’ve transformed the old warehouses, factories and stables into appealing and spacious homes. And in the brownfields between them, architects have designed experimental contemporary homes, creating housing where none existed while pushing the boundaries of their craft.
Live-work spaces, purpose-built apartment blocks and modern terrace housing have sprung up among the historic brick and contemporary timber constructions, giving the neighbourhood a dynamic and unpredictable character. People of all cultures and brackets live side-by-side, and businesses are popping up to serve them. They combine to make Dalston an area of great potential, for people who seek a multicultural atmosphere and an unconventional lifestyle.
If you’re a fan of heritage housing, look to the streets radiating east off Stoke Newington High Street and Kingsland Road. Streets like Forest Road and Richmond Road, leading to Gayhurst Community School and London Fields, are chock-a-block with tall, broad Victorian family homes and repurposed factories. With the old brick and ironwork maintained, new residents are slowly fixing them up and maximising their potential. Further north, Shacklewell Lane, Sandringham Road and St Marks Rise are attracting new buyers to the grand tree-lined streets. Homes here rise to four storeys, many of them in need of an upgrade. Buyers seeking a fixer-upper, or a tired family home on which to put a personal stamp, would have lots of opportunity here. At the heart of this enclave sits St Marks Dalston, one of the largest neighbourhood churches in the country – larger in area than Southwark Cathedral. Its Gothic rose window and French-inflected tower, built a century ago, dominate the road.
Loft extensions are more of a rule than an exception in Dalston, as are side-return kitchen extensions. Local architects like Scenario are well versed in the expansion and renovation process here, and manoeuvre their designs successfully through the planning and heritage departments. The results are often stripped-back, light-filled versions of the original Victorian architecture, offering vast entertaining spaces and private nooks for growing families.
Further Reading
“Don’t move, improve,” goes the saying. And it works for most. If you love your location and find moving house a daunting proposition, there are measures you can take to expand and transform your existing home, and a single-storey extension is one of the least intrusive and least expensive options. These common home-extensions require fewer official hoops to jump through, less substantial foundations and minimal steelwork. And if they’re built well, they may also be able to accommodate a second-storey in the future.
At Scenario we design home extensions of every size and scope, within the planning constraints of the neighbourhood. We always recommend adding the most space to the home as permitted, without dramatically reducing the outdoor space. Generally speaking, the larger the extension, the more cost-effective it should be.
In a terraced house, a single-storey side-return extension is a popular way to gain valuable square footage and open up a warren-like layout. The addition of just a few square metres can allow for an open-plan kitchen-diner with a family room and separate bathroom and utility room that flows into the original lounge and hallway. A semi-detached house would benefit from a wraparound addition that occupies the side-return and reaches around into the rear garden. This would completely transform an old property into a functional home for generations.
Aside from space, one great advantage of a single-storey extension is the gaining of natural light. Single-storey additions can be glazed in any number of ways, from rooflights to Velux windows to bi-fold and concertina doors. Moreover, the redesigned layout will enable you to enlarge doorways and existing windows and push up your roof to allow in even more daylight. Enlarging windows and doorways also increases the sightlines throughout a home, making it feel bigger and safer. If you have a garden, extending to the rear or side of your home creates an opportunity to connect indoors and out with walls of glazing and new flooring that can be carried through outside.
We also like to make sure a home-extension will allow the house to grow with the homeowners. As families progress and age, we expect generations to come and go, rooms to change function, bathrooms to work harder and people to require more assistance as they get older. This is where wider doorways, smooth transitions and large, highly functional kitchens and bathrooms to come in handy. After all, if you don’t want to move house now, you really won’t want to move house later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Single Storey Extensions: A Simple Way to Add Valuable Extra Space
It's easy to understand why a single-story addition is a popular home renovation. It will provide crucial additional space that, when coupled with an interior redesign, can significantly enhance the layout of your house and the flow of natural light, and it can also (in many instances) be completed within the Permitted Development limits. It's also a lot less expensive than moving house to gain more space, and will add value to your current home too. Read on for some useful information about why single storey extensions are a good idea and how to get started with yours.
How Much Does A Single Storey Extension Cost?
Before you begin planning the design of a single-story extension, you must first establish a budget and verify that you can afford what you're planning. Begin with construction expenses, which can be broken down as follows:- If you're on a tight budget, you can construct a single-story addition for about £1,500 to £1,900 per m2 for low quality (e.g., 4m × 5m expansion would cost around £30,000).
- Expect to spend between £1,900 and £2,200 per m2 for good quality (e.g., £38,000 for a 4m x 5m extension).
- A high-spec extension will cost between £2,200 and £2,400 per m2 (eg up to £44,000 for a 4m x 5m extension).
- Architect's fees (these will be somewhere between 3 and 7 percent of the cost of construction, plus drawings)
- Structural engineer (between £500 to £1,000)
- Surveyor (between £500 and £1,500)
- Project management (between 3 and 7 percent, of a fixed fee)
- VAT (20 percent)
- Planning fees (£206 in England)
- Building control charges (usually between £200 and £900)
- Party wall agreement (up to £1,000 per neighbour affected)
Is Planning Permission Required For A Single Storey Extension?
A single storey extension that: covers more than half of the land surrounding your home; extends towards a road; increases the overall height of the building; extends more than 6m from the rear of an attached house; extends more than 8m from the rear of a detached house; is taller than 4m; or uses more than half of the land surrounding your home (or a combination of these things) will require planning permission.A competent architect or builder will be aware of these restrictions, but it's best to double-check to prevent multiple planning applications and to ensure that planning isn't neglected entirely. Remember, if the extension's height and footprint satisfy permitted development requirements, you may be able to construct it without obtaining planning permission.
Never assume anything, though, particularly if you reside in a Conservation Area. You should apply for a certificate of lawful development from your local authorities even if you don't need planning permission, just to be sure.
Single Storey Extensions And Building Regulations
Any kind of extension must adhere to building regulations, even if you don't technically need planning permission for it. You must apply for the work via your local authority's building control department. Each authority has its own set of fees, or you may prefer to use a private licenced building control company. Some contractors are building control certified, which means they can do work without contacting the building control department.What you choose is always going to be down to you, your circumstances, and your personal choices, but the end result must be an extension that meets all necessary building regulations.
Do I Need A Party Wall Agreement?
Depending on the relationship you have with your neighbours, you may be able to convince them to sign a party wall agreement waiver form. No matter what the situation, you'll need to show them your plans and take them through all your ideas for your single storey extension so that they fully understand what you are thinking of doing.If they're not close friends, or you think it would be better to go through more formal channels, you will need to employ a surveyor to establish party wall agreements. Remember, your neighbours have the right to find their own surveyor if they do not wish to share yours, and you'll need to bear the cost of this.
How Big Can The Single Storey Extension Be?
The size of your single storey extension will be limited by planning permission restrictions, such as how much your home has previously been expanded, but keep in mind that the bigger the extension, the more cost-effective it will be. However, an extension that significantly decreases the size of the garden may have a detrimental effect on the attractiveness of your house to potential purchasers. The key thing to think about is whether or not you should go big just because you can.Designing A Single Storey Extension
Here are some things to think about whether you've hired an architect or are designing your extension yourself with the help of an experienced builder. The kind of extension design you select will depend on the style of home you are working with, even though it's sometimes mandated by planning permission or permitted development regulations too.When planning an extension, it is easy to forget about how the remainder of the home will sit alongside the new area. In the early planning stage, consider carefully how to integrate the new single storey extension with the existing areas of the property.
Before you begin planning, think about your requirements. What are you using the extension for, and how will it work with the rest of your property? You might be extending your kitchen to create a kitchen diner, for example, in which case you'll be looking for a more open-plan layout. Or you could be adding a home office, which means you'll need it to be enclosed. Once you know your reasons behind the extension, you will have a much better idea of how it will need to look.
