SPATIAL AWARENESS 68—MARYLEBONE JOURNAL
SPACE
properties. In maximising the living space we added an extra floor at the top with a mansard roof, and changed the floor levels. This meant the windows on the rear façade did not line up with the new floors. What we did was to push the rear façade back by about 1.5m, but only extended the lower floor, creating a gap that allows you to see into the upper. We then topped this new space with a roof light. The gap means the height of the windows is no longer an issue, and there is more light flooding into both spaces. So you have created quite a special triple height space while accomplishing the practical aims of increasing space and light in the living areas.
LINKS
The Howard de Walden Estate 020 7580 3163
hdwe.co.uk
It has made for an interesting internal dynamics. Pushing the lower level back further than the upper one has created internal balconies, but we connect the two spaces with a substantial staircase at the back. But they are more than just steps, which I think is important. We have put lots of openings in and around the stairs for people’s books or art. It’s almost like setting a staircase into a room as a piece of furniture, somewhere else to sit and enjoy the light flooding in. It also created a much stronger connection between the two levels.
not just a means of getting up and down. It helps transform what could otherwise be quite a gloomy space.
You just mentioned the stack effect. What is this? The stack effect acts like a chimney, and is about getting fresh air to enter and gently circulate through the house. Hot air is less dense than cool air and naturally rises as its density drops. Therefore you can increase the airflow in a space by having openings at both high and low levels – as the hot air escapes
through the upper openings it is replaced by cooler air being drawn in at the bottom. We make use of this by creating tall internal spaces with an opening at the top and then make sure that air can be drawn into them from below. It is a system that has been used through the centuries to ventilate buildings.
There are also light wells at the rear of the house what are they for? They arose from the request to keep the facades for number 5, though we have used the device in all the
So it was more than just a design choice? Absolutely, but it is a balancing act. You have to keep in mind that if you take out too much floor space you are reducing the living area and wasting the client’s money. The rear light wells may have been rejected or made smaller by some clients in an attempt to preserve floor space, which is valuable, but then the design would not work so well. But somebody is going to live here, this is going to be their home, what is the point of chasing some iconic statement that doesn’t work on a practical level? It is hugely important to visualise the final use of a space. So storage,
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