Original projects to inspire your own self-build or renovation
An American influence
The modernist desert homes of Palm Springs, California, USA, inspired the pared-back restoration of this four-storey, Grade II-listed villa in a north London conservation area by Will Gamble Architects. The 407sqm project, which cost £1.2 million, included renovating the property’s upper floors to provide five bedrooms, creating a new kitchen and dining area on the lower ground floor and a living room extension featuring terrazzo and Douglas fir. These materials recur throughout the new rooms, with a striking Douglas fir lattice-work ceiling, terrazzo banquette seating and built-in table, plus raised planters in the garden. (willgamblearchitects.com)
A barn reborn
One couple with two young children asked Kast Architects to create a 105sqm home from a roofless ruined barn on Cornwall’s north coast, at a cost of around £2,750 per sqm. Keeping to the existing footprint, the practice repaired the surviving stonework and raised the roofline, filling the gap between the original masonry and the new twin-pitched roof with charred larch to give a clear distinction between old and new. There are two bedrooms below one set of exposed timber roof trusses, while beneath the other is a living room, kitchen and family bathroom, plus a hidden a staircase leading to a mezzanine guest room/study. (kastarchitects.com)
Rising from the ashes
In 2017, soon after Sandra Mudronja and Pierre Vadi bought a barn in the Pedrógão Grande region of Portugal, a fire swept through the area. The exposed landscape revealed a series of terraces that inspired architect Miguel Marcelino to design the couple’s new 223sqm house at the top. It has 65 exposed concrete columns holding up a flat roof. Glass walls surround the living room, kitchen and two bedrooms, and there’s a pool on the terrace outside. (marcelino.pt)
Construction with a conscience
Sustainability played a part in the renovation of a family home in Hackney, north-east London. Practice Astrain Scheldt retained the foundations and base of a conservatory when replacing it
