Our clients for the complete redesign of this five-storey terraced house felt that despite its generous size they experienced it as dark and crowded. Our daily-use analysis revealed that an astonishing 90% of the time was spent in just 10% of the space.
The lower ground floor was dark and accessed via an unlit hallway. This served as the main family space and accommodated too many functions, containing the kitchen, dining and play areas plus space for entertaining, whereas the wonderfully lit double reception on the floor above was rarely used.
Our aspiration was to utilise and incorporate the unused space and bring more natural light to the basement level. A simple and bold intervention achieved both objectives and completely transformed the functionality and experience of the house. A gallery space was produced by removing a section of the rarely used ground floor and the various activities strategically arranged over both interconnected levels and around the light filled opening.
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Photography: Luke Hayes & Amy Scaife