Yellow frieze marks out rear extension to Victorian east London house

Ray House is a modern update of a Victorian house in a conservation area in Dalston, Hackney. The project has transformed the house from a poorly insulated, single-glazed and gas central-heated property with an irrational compartmentalised plan into a thermally efficient, all-electric, hi-tech, contemporary home with abundant daylight now reaching deep into the house.

A sunny yellow frieze on the new rear extension features a pattern with stylised rays overlooking the relandscaped garden and new garden annexe, which houses a music room.

A shallow three-storey extension was added to the rear facade, working hard to make more sense of the small spaces around the stairs.

Who were the clients and what kind of brief did they give you?

The clients are a creative couple working in the fields of graphic design and illustration. Their brief was pretty functional: to fully update the house throughout, making it well insulated, sustainably powered and better connected across the three levels. We extended the rear facade across all floors to free up the awkward layout, but the extension was designed to have as a minimal footprint as possible.

Were there any significant factors that influenced the design?

The house was part of an unaltered row of Victorian houses within a conservation area without a precedent for visible contemporary alterations or extensions. Our design respects the historical context and presents a subtle evolution of the existing order. Works to the front - retrofitting the windows to improve thermal performance - are practically invisible. At the rear, the extension has a shallow footprint and works with the colours of the existing weathered bricks, with a playful frieze marking the threshold to the garden.

What is going on externally?

The lower ground extension introduces generous sliding glazed doors onto the garden and is characterised by its ornamentation: decorative concrete tiles cut with a pattern inspired by the Victorian plasterwork on the street elevation. The bespoke pattern was designed by the client and house owner, Leona Clarke, working closely with us to fabricate and install it. The tiles were designed to have interlocking and overlapping shapes at different depths. Over time, the frieze’s profile will become more visible as the raised areas darken.

How about inside?

Inside, the house has been carefully and precisely remodelled around the clients’ collection of art and furniture. The solid steel columns and beams defining the threshold to the extension are revealed, combined with the warmth and tactility of raw materials. Specialist trades were employed to craft bespoke elements in every space. The new layout relocates the kitchen to the upper ground floor, where it faces onto the front garden and receives even north light. This strategic design move reunites the kitchen with the dining room, creating a progressively more private domain towards the back of the house, culminating in the garden.

What is the approach to sustainability?

The house is future-proofed: kitted out with thermal insulation and underfloor waterproof membranes to reduce moisture levels. It is now powered by an air-source heat pump, located in the front garden and cleverly concealed by a decorative Corten steel screen. The garden studio features a wildflower green roof and rainwater collection. It is accessed via the south-facing garden, which features a stepped landscape with verdant planting, including evergreen climbers, designed by garden designer Miria Harris.

What was the project’s main challenge?

The main challenge was the escalated cost of materials during the build, which took place during the pandemic. There was no real way of overcoming the unforeseen cost implications, it was more a question of managing them through the design.

What is your favourite moment in the project? 

A cosy snug on the upper ground floor; and then, on the lower floor, a seating area in the living room which is dedicated to listening to music. This area is lit from above and furnished with a bespoke Douglas fir DJ cabinet with wall-mounted speakers. The entire house is wired to stream music into every room from this listening space.

What lessons from this project could be applied elsewhere?

We found a real strength in carefully choosing one material that could be applied to many of the design decisions within the building. In this case, we chose Douglas fir timber and worked with it for all the carpentry elements within the building floors, stairs, bannisters, walls, doors, door frames, sills, storage and bespoke furniture elements. The trick was to treat the wood in different ways but there’s an underlining feel of one single material carrying most of the interior throughout. 

Johan Hybschmann and Margaret Bursa are partners at Archmongers architects

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In numbers

Total contract cost: £500,000    
Area of extension 27m² including annexe (GIA before: 125m², GIA after: 152m²) 
GIFA cost per m:  £3,289 including house renovation