10 NEWS RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS A refurb of contrasts in Cambridge All Images © Edmund Sumner
Neil Dusheiko Architects has completed the transformation of a Victorian semi-detached house in South Cambridge, in the form of a meticulously designed extension which provides copious natural light, plus a contrastingly dark retreat. The extension “envelopes the house,” said the architects, and a series of skylights provide abundant natural light to the interior. A new garden, designed by Jane Brockbank, links the house with the secluded ‘Dark Spa’. The homeowners, a young couple with three children, wanted to extend and restore the house which had fallen into disrepair, including creating a home-schooling area as well as a home working space. They also wanted a new-build outdoor leisure space at the bottom of the garden to house a gym, sauna and spa area. Working closely with homeowners at every stage of the process, the architects struck a sensitive balance between preserving the historic character of the existing building, situated in a conservation area, and introducing new elements which feel “robust and timeless.” The team carefully guided the development of these ideas by running design workshops, building physical and digital models to test spatial ideas, and exploring atmospheres created by different materials.
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They also produced prototypes and mock-ups of the various components throughout the process, rigorously testing the designs in order to provide a sympathetic addition to the existing property while reflecting the personalities of the homeowners. Neil Dusheiko said: “We wanted to create a new layer around the older shell of the house so that they would read together. We also wanted to design from the inside out, where the form of the extension would be created by a combination of solving environmental issues [solar and thermal] as well as dealing with the practicalities of everyday life of parents who work from home.
The form was designed using computer aided solar studies and physical models; daylight analysis software was used to shape the sloped roof to minimise the impact on the light of neighbouring properties, while maximising natural light internally and allowing views of the existing facade when moving from the corridor spaces to the kitchen/dining spaces. Petersen Kolumba Brick was chosen to harmonise with the yellow stock brick of the original house and salvaged bricks from the demolished wing. A timber-clad service core is situated in the centre of the plan and hides all the
storage and utility spaces. The customisable home study area can develop with the children as they grow.
A zinc-clad loft extension contains the master bedroom with views over the garden to the north. There is also a craft room, an extra bathroom and walk-in wardrobe on the second floor. The vaulted roofs are planted with sedum, allowing views of greenery out of the first-floor windows. The garden space includes a lawn,
greenhouse, allotments and a meadow garden, and a footpath made of clusters of Kolumba brick and gravel links to the ‘Dark Spa’ – recalling the materials used in the house.
In the monolithic spa outbuilding there is
an “inward focus,” said the architects, “a feeling of detachment from the everyday.” It houses a sauna, Japanese soaking tub, shower, gym and meditation room with a fold-down bed concealed within the timber cladding. Walls are clad in dark Sapele timber and floors are made of natural black slate.
The outbuilding is clad in Shoi Sugi Ban charred black timber, recalling preexisting buildings in the garden, and making it “the antithesis of the Sun Slice House, although thoughtfully linked by how the materials are made,” said the architects. The house’s Kolumba clay bricks are
ADF DECEMBER 2020
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