House in Chelsea

This refurbishment and basement extension in a small terraced house of the Kings Road required the unpicking of a previous poorly conceived refurbishment from the 1990s. By stripping the building back to its shell and adjusting the floor levels we were able to rationalise the building accommodation, and install new services and insulation throughout. A habitable basement replaced an inaccessible coal cellar, and forms a split level living space, whilst reducing the ground floor internal area by re-instating the original rear courtyard provides important external amenity space in the tight urban setting.

A pair of cantilever stairs, one a spiral in oak plywood, one a straight flight in ‘floating’ concrete treads, provide focal points within the space, whilst a glass floor and balustrade allow for both floor area and maximum light into the basement sitting area. The master suite fills the top floor with direct access to a private roof terrace.

The building was refurbished to an Ecohomes ‘Very Good’ rating demonstrating that considered amendments to existing housing stock can have long term benefits in terms of energy use, and was a finalist in the Architects Journal AJ Retrofit awards.