Scope of Build: Our clients, a family of four (three when we took on the project!) asked us to upgrade their early twentieth-century home to EnerPHit, the Passive House standard for existing buildings. Alongside this, we were given other objectives from extending the living space to making the tiered garden more accessible and usable.

This first phase presented several challenges: a public sewer beneath the proposed extension, significant changes in ground levels requiring earth moving, and coordination with future phases. An inefficient existing layout also offered an opportunity to eke out more living space without necessarily building more floor space. 

Outcome: A warm, bright, and flexible family home, running on renewables, with triple glazing to the ground and first floors - including a front door incorporating encapsulated stained glass.

Despite only creating 7m² of ground floor space, we created a generous kitchen and dining area with a reading nook, alongside a utility cupboard, coat storage, and ground floor WC. A large shoe bench and integrated storage make the entrance hall work harder for everyday family life.

The garden was simplified and levelled beside the extension to provide a generous outdoor dining area, while the footprint of the original brick shed became a covered barbecue space.

The house now runs entirely off an air source heat pump in the rear garden and solar panels on the roof, and ductwork has been pre-installed in anticipation of a new ventilation system, for the following phase during which the loft will be widened and upgraded.

Cost: £460,000 (including fees)

Cost per m²: £4,100

Design Time: 6 months

Build Time: 13 months

Contractor: London Renovators Ltd.

Sustainability: Ecospheric

Photography: Chroma Photography