GARDEN PAVILION
Residential extension, Kent
West St Studio with Giulia Filippone
2021
Residential extension, Kent
West St Studio with Giulia Filippone
2021
Extension and reworking of a substantial Edwardian country house on the edge of the High Weald in Kent. The new, single storey addition wraps around the existing ground floor, allowing a comprehensive reconfiguration of the circulation, a more generous entrance and service spaces, and principally a garden room for the kitchen and family dining.
The existing building dates from the early 20th Century but has been added to, unsympathetically, on several occasions creating a series of small, awkward spaces at the rear of the building which are currently used for storage and ancillary functions, preventing any meaningful visual connection with the large back garden, and a two-storey extension at the front which has turned the originally symmetrical elevation with two prominent bay windows, lop-sided. A grand, full height stair sits at what would have been the centre of the plan, but its dramatic volume is compromised by the proximity of the front door, less than a metre from its foot, which undermines the generosity of the space. To address both of these issues, the new extension will run the full length of the rear elevation, replacing the ad-hoc series of existing additions, and return along the east elevation to reorientate the entrance and free up the central staircase. Therefore the new building will be visible on three elevations, and need to respond to each differently. The form and materials of the new building are inspired by traditional garden structures - large areas of solid brick and the rounded coping bricks give the feel of a garden wall - but this becomes more elaborate and ornate on the front elevation, where a new open porch allows the front door to be relocated, the south east reception room to become an entrance hall, and the staircase space to breathe. The shifting of the entrance helps to balance out the asymmetry of the facade, whilst the detailing of the porch is quite traditional including a corbelled arch with projecting brick headers along the parapet, and pivoting hardwood shutters along the east elevation to allow the front door to be sheltered from the wind in winter. The porch opens at the back into a timber pergola with a bench seat, providing a covered route from front to back garden and a place to sit in the morning sun. The bulk of the extension is at the rear, where the form has been heavily influenced by traditional garden architecture and which houses a new kitchen and dining room. The principal elevation is largely brick with three modest openings punched into the facade. There was a deliberate decision to avoid something more glazed and lightweight in favour of a massing that was more robust and relatable to the domestic architecture of the original house. Each opening sits next to a panel of fluted brickwork - which in most cases accommodates the void for a sliding door linking the interior seamlessly with the garden - which helps break the monotony of the facade with shadow and texture, and lifts it beyond the rudimentary garden wall. A tall brick chimney slightly off-centre further divides the elevation and introduces a strong vertical element. The brick wall is capped with a patinated steel barrel vaulted roof - another reference to classical garden structures - which creates a dramatic interior whilst allowing the new building to sit below the datum of the wall hung tiles on the house. |