A quiet reconfiguration for work, life and landscape
Our clients, a film director and his wife, had recently moved into a former gatehouse on a suburban street in Wimbledon. Though full of character, the house no longer served the needs of modern family life. The living spaces were inward-facing, disconnected from the large, mature garden at the rear. The plan was fragmented, with redundant rooms and no clear centre.
They asked us to reimagine the house for contemporary living: to open it up, create a space for writing and working from home, and form a new heart for the family, centred around the kitchen and garden.
2nd Prize - AJ Robin Ellis Small Project Award
Our approach was to reclaim the threshold between house and garden, creating a new structure that feels both part of the landscape and a continuation of the existing building. The extension sits lightly within the site, its delicate roof planes floating above a glazed envelope that runs the full width of the garden.
Internally, the plan was reorganised to centre the kitchen and social spaces at the rear of the house. The extension is divided into two distinct but connected areas: a garden room and a studio, each framed by mature trees and shifting light. Horizontal glazing separates the new roofs from the original house, preserving the historic façade and introducing an element of visual levitation.
The boundary between inside and out becomes intentionally blurred. Structure is expressed in slender connections; materials are minimal, light, and precise. The new spaces are not just additions, but transitional zones, linking old and new, home and work, architecture and landscape.
The result is a home that feels quietly transformed. Calm, flexible and deeply connected to its garden, it now supports a more fluid way of living, where family, creativity, and the natural world can coexist with ease.