British architect Adam Knibb has extended a property in a converted college in Winchester, England, by building a timber box above a seldom-used entryway.
Adam Knibb Architects was asked by the proprietor to find the best way to extend the property, which occupies the former toilet block of the Previous St Swithun’s School.
Following the college relocated in 1929, the creating grew to become a library. But parts of it were offered off for residential use, which led to the creation of the home, named Austen Residence.
The owners have been in need of much more space and wished a south-facing aspect, as effectively as greater organic light. The lack of space in this urban website meant an unconventional proposal was the only option.
“It was conceived that, with an access way beside the property which only had to provide a right of passage for autos quite occasionally, it was possible to construct out and develop a new room in excess of the top of this room,” Knibb explained.
The extension projects across the side passage at initial-floor degree, and is supported at the opposite end by two slender steel columns.
Connected story: London residence extension by Alexander Martin attributes a double-height window wall
Due to its place inside a conservation area, the framework had to satisfy organizing rules by getting clearly distinguishable from the authentic building. This informed the use of timber cladding that contrasts with the present brick facades.
The wooden cladding and the orientation of the narrow windows emphasises the verticality of the extension, which is visible from the close by principal road.
“When viewed from the street, the vertical timber cladding assists to draw your eye up over the gate through the new extension and to the sky past,” Knibb informed Dezeen.
“We employed the materials for a comparable impact along with incorporating a contrast to the horizontality of the brickwork within the surrounding current buildings.”
The timber pod was partly prefabricated off-site to allow a easy assembly and minimise disruption.
A glazed aperture even more emphasises the division amongst the old and new structures, whilst assisting to brighten the interior.
Windows on all 3 sides fill the new area with organic light and offer views out towards the surrounding neighbourhood. A skylight in the centre of the roof introduces a lot more light and offers a point of view of the sky.
The threshold among the new room and the current property is marked by a glazed door to the first-floor landing. A new entrance to the home was also additional under the extension.
Adam Knibb also created a pair of matching gabled residences in Winchester that characteristic huge triangular windows below their pitched rooflines.
Photography is by Martin Gardner.
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