We are lucky to have had many clients that give us free rein to do something different on the typical London townhouse canvas. The most considered move here is also the most striking.
The existing rear extension, typical for a mid terraced townhouse in fashionable Stoke Newington is barely a decade old was retained rather than demolished only to be rebuilt. Working with what was within the existing walls allow for some creative remodelling to the new rear lounge.
The first floor to the rear outrigger was removed entirely-the loss of an office and bathroom. In its place, a new timber mezzanine now spans the rear of the building as a dynamic diagonal. Expressed as an exposed timber structure it provides new focal point with a new created double height space.
Our client did have some requirements; an earthy Californian redwood pallet nestled around an open fire but don’t forget the air-conditioning.
The main body of the house is reconfiguration to essentially remove the cellular nature of the ground floor. The removal of the stairwell walls provides an open plan arrangement across the entire footprint. A residential sprinkler system, installed the ground and mezzanine floor made it possible to remove the supporting walls.
There’s been a simple flip to the conventional floor plan. The kitchen now occupies the centre of the plan for day to day living with the dining room relocating to the front bay window, oriented towards the street. The mezzanine lounge space occupies the rear outrigger space overlooking the garden and benefit from the South facing aspect.
Instrumental to the overall improvements to the townhouse was the removal of the gas boiler and use this opportunity to provide an alternative energy source.
An air source heat pump now provides heating, hot water and air conditioning. Perhaps a little controversially a DEFRA-approved wood-burning stove provides the new lounge with a secondary heat source and a counterpoint in texture and warmth to the mechanical system.
In practice, the two sit together more comfortably than you'd expect, because they're doing fundamentally different jobs. The heat pump maintains a comfortable living temperature throughout the house, drawing heat from outside air and delivering roughly three to four times the energy it consumes.
The wood burner is something else-a ritual, the source of radiant warmth that no radiator or underfloor heating can replicate.
On a winter evening, lighting a fire and dialling the heat pump back slightly is not only perfectly reasonable, it's arguably the sensible thing to do. Where your attention is drawn is air quality: most of London sits within a Smoke Control Zone, which means open fires are not allowed and you'll need a DEFRA-approved stove, burning dry, well-seasoned wood. Far from being a contradiction, the combination of heat pump and wood burner is one of the more satisfying ways to heat a home.
The inclusion of air conditioning sits alongside the heat pump without contradiction. Both systems draw on the same low-carbon electrical supply, fed by solar and stored in the battery below.The heat pump itself provides cooling in summer months by simply reversing its operation. The decision reflects an acknowledgement that comfort in a warming climate is part of what sustainable homes now need to deliver.
A house that is too hot to inhabit in August is not a successful house, regardless of its winter credentials.
Below the existing house, an entirely new basement was added to provide a dedicated gymnasium and climbing wall finished in a striking bright orange rubber floor. However, the main sewer connection ran directly beneath the building. A significant infrastructure constraint overcome by redirecting the connection to create a usable space.
The south-facing rear aspect is an asset that needed to be addressed. Awnings and motorised roller blinds handle solar gain without compromising the quality of light that makes the orientation worth having in the first place. In addition, the glazing is solar controlled and reduces solar gain by 50%
