Architecture update

Hardwearing construction

Architectural practice Nomo Studio designed a three-storey 230sqm villa for a family of four on the Spanish island of Menorca at a cost of £2,560 per sqm. Concrete walls – some cast on site, others made from fluted blocks – mirror the colour and texture of local sandstone and will withstand the hot sun, high winds and humidity. A big patio on one side of the house brings light into two bedrooms on the ground floor, and there are three bedrooms on the next level. The third storey has a kitchen, dining area, living room, terrace and infinity pool, plus an outside staircase leading up to a rooftop solarium. (nomostudio.eu)

Room for everyone

A professional couple with three grown-up children and several grandchildren asked the architectural team at Grafted to redesign the ground floor of their five-bedroom Victorian home in Norwich, Norfolk. The 110sqm renovation, which cost around £3,500 per sqm, includes a living room, home office and cinema, plus a 21sqm rear extension for the kitchen-diner. This contemporary addition features a decorative red-brick façade topped by ornamental masonry corbels, made by the practice using pre-cast concrete pigmented with iron oxide. (grafted.ltd)

Bungalow upgrade

The wooden frame and the foundations of a two-bedroom bungalow in Twyford, Hampshire, were reused during a redesign by Studio BAD for a family with two small children. Improvements include relocating the kitchen, raising the roof and converting the loft to give three bedrooms – each with a dormer that’s angled to avoid overlooking the neighbours. The 165sqm revamp, which cost £300,000, includes double glazing, an air-source heat pump and electric vehicle charging. (studiobad.co.uk)

Low-energy scheme

A small patch of grassland in Peckham, south-east London, features a three-bedroom new-build by Surman Weston. The practice bought the plot at auction without guarantee that it could be developed, working with Southwark Council to devise a scheme that would fit in with nearb