An Expansion Cracks Open a Dark London Townhouse

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Project Details:

Location: London, England

Architect: Merrett Houmøller Architects / @merretthoumollerarchitects

Footprint: 2,325 square feet

Builder: Solid Crew Construction

Structural & Civil Engineer: Blue Engineering

Landscape Design: Rosebank Landscaping

Interior Design: All and Nxthing Interiors

Photographer: Helen Leech / @laleechy

From the Architect: "Merrett Houmøller Architects turned a series of dark, cramped, and uninspired rooms in a London terrace into Taper House, which features a dramatic trapezoidal-shaped, double-height kitchen and dining space.

"Merrett Houmøller Architects, interior designers All & Nxthing, and the client collaborated to turn the London terrace home into a three-story family residence that’s a dramatic departure from conventional townhouse layouts. The extended and refurbished home features an interplay of connected volumes. A mix of open and broken plan spaces are opened up with generous double-height ceilings and high-level glazing, with the double-height kitchen and dining space at the literal and focal center of the plan.

"At Taper House, the architects’ aim was to transform the tired-looking Victorian house into a contemporary home that forms a closer relationship with the garden and natural light. The extension has tall trapezium-shaped internal openings and pitched forms that form calm and inviting church-like grandeur.

"Following extensive travel, the clients wanted their home’s overall aesthetic to be inspired, in part, by traditional Moroccan and Andalusian homes, where a central courtyard is tall and filled with light, with smaller, cozier rooms off to the side. The architects achieved this direction by removing some of the original first floor, disrupting the typical rectilinear spatial arrangement of a standard London townhouse renovation. The result was a unique mix of tall, open, and intimate spaces.

"Integral to the brief was to create something which had a more positive impact on the world than negative. Choice of materials was based around this; both regarding the environmental impacts and the impact on the sense of comfort and warmth within the home’s spaces. As such, the pallet of materials focused on natural and low carbon materials.

"Exposed structural oak timber and wide oak board flooring bring warmth to the spaces while acting as a carbon sink. With a high thermal mass, handmade clay brick pavers with a lime mortar cover the floor on the lower areas of the ground floor, extending into the garden where they become permeable paving. Clay plaster is used extensively helping regulate moisture and odors within the air. Walls and ceilings where clay plaster is not used have a lime wash finish. Photovoltaic panels are fitted to the dormer roof and outrigger roof, providing the majority of the house’s electricity demands. Integrated plantings get light from ample glazing. Finally, essential to the initial layout was the idea of a pond which acted as rainwater capture and attenuation with rainwater pipes emptying directly into it. The pond is visible from all areas of the ground floor, helping to further imbue the sense of calm the rest of the home evokes."