dickson architects extends a victorian house with black timber box in london

dickson architects’ design for a private victorian house in islington, north london, is a total renovation of the building’s interior and a slight yet high-functional exterior addition. by creating an extended black charred timber box/terrace, the designers obtained a bright sunny modern kitchen with skylights and an access to the rear courtyard.

rear extension, clad in shou sugi ban black charred larch boards

dickson architects selected frameless glass bi-folding doors as they had no mullions and glass handles, achieving this seamless relationship between the kitchen and courtyard. the line of glazing was purposely set back to provide a deep reveal and deep shadow. this was tied together with the installation of a polished concrete floor which carried through to the exterior. to maximize floor to ceiling height the extension floor was lowered.

charred timber clad rear extension with a view through frameless glass doors, seamlessly connecting interior and exterior spaces

the dining space is framed with a single pane frameless roof light which floods the space with natural light. shou sugi ban black charred larch boards provide the outer skin — the charred texture of the cladding was chosen to complement the traditional london stock brick on the rear facade and is capped by a custom folded metal shadow trim. as part of the drainage design, to avoid the need to accommodate internal pipework the existing rainwater pipe was rerouted and hidden behind the parapet.

frameless glass bi-folding doors

upper floor rooms were reconfigured to provide a generous master bedroom and bathroom with adjoining study space. the study was fitted with full height lacquered timber joinery to fulfill the client’s brief for a library. the original ceiling was removed and a new sloped plasterboard ceiling was introduced with a flush roof light. these simple moves have provided a well-proportioned and naturally lit space.

open plan dining kitchen flooded with natural light from single pane frameless glass roof light

in order to reduce the cost of a new staircase, the existing stair is covered with oak floorboards. a new frameless glass balustrade allows the stair to meet seamlessly with the landing.

minimal grey tone kitchen

frameless glass balustrade injects much needed natural daylight into ground floor hallway

utilitarian style monochrome bathroom; metro tiles with contrasting dark grout joints complement the grey cement-like colored floor tiles

full height library shelving, lacquered finish

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom