Our client invited us to retrofit their new house, transforming it from a leaky, inefficient building into a light-filled family home with Passivhaus credentials. The tight plot and proximity of neighbouring buildings meant the ground floor had limited daylight, an issue compounded by an unsympathetic historic extension.

We started with a rigorous Passivhaus survey to identify areas of the building in need of thermal upgrades, focusing our design on addressing badly performing fabric contributing to high running costs. At ground level we removed the existing extension which awkwardly split the garden space and blocked light from entering the house. We replaced it with a sensitive addition running the length of the rear facade and featuring a high-performance glazed roof. Internally we reconfigured the staircase and provided a glazed access point to the roof, enabling a new air source heat pump to be maintained and drawing light through the building.

The new extension and landscape have established the garden as an additional room, and light levels throughout the house are significantly improved through the reconfiguration and material choices. As the design develops through technical stages, we’re working closely with the structural engineers to ensure the design meets our client’s ambitious aspirations for a reduction in embodied and operational carbon.