Uxbridge Bower in London, by Bureau de Change, draws on local design influences to create a contextual garden room to bring three generations together when the client's mother visits from Greece
Briefly describe the project, including its context, the existing building it is extending, your design objectives and the work that has been done?
Uxbridge Bower is a granny annexe like no other. Nestled into the far end of a 30m-long suburban garden in west London, with its highly stylised form and lively materials palette, its design took inspiration from the Art Deco history of the main house and the local area, creating a home-from-home for the client’s mother and and his child's grandmother.
Who is the project for and what was the brief, including any specific requirements?
The project is a private living space for when the client’s mother visits from her native Greece. The annex offers privacy and connection, enabling intergenerational living as the three generations come together in London. It has a bedroom facing onto the garden and ensuite, as well as cleverly integrating and concealing garden storage at the rear. It is designed to be connected to and accessed via the existing home’s garden.
Were there any significant factors that influenced the design?
The single-storey, 30m2 pavilion is compact, adhering to the height and mass restrictions stipulated by permitted development. Borrowing from the decorative Art Deco style, it has bold geometric shapes and bright colours, characterised by low relief and stepped decorative panels around entrances and windows and roofs.
Explain the project’s external treatment
The hexagonal plan minimises the pavilion’s mass, while creating heightened drama through a series of columns which frame each elevation. Columns are read as a continuous line running seamlessly into the flat roof. Elevations are primarily glazed, while the structure in between is constructed in CLT, finished in textured render and bush hammered terrazzo, which also lines the verandah openings. Inner faces of the columns and verandah soffit are painted in warm ochre, so it glows in all seasons.
Explain how the interiors have been designed
The annex includes a single space divided into the bedroom/living room and kitchenette and an en-suite bathroom at the rear. The plan, on three elevations, offers a view of the garden and a projecting verandah creates a sheltered shared space where the whole family can gather.
What has been the project’s approach to sustainability?
In the main, it was important for our client to create a second home for his mother to be close to the family and minimise international flights to see loved ones. Materials for the project were carefully considered – the CLT structure is complemented by recyclable insulation, stone tiles on the facade and recycled tiles for bathroom and kitchenette.
Describe the main challenge and how you overcame it?
A big challenge was cladding of columns where terrazzo tiles had to be carefully templated, cut and installed to follow the steps and folds of the CLT columns. We worked with the timber subcontractor and terrazzo supplier to develop the bespoke cutting of the tiles so that they met seamlessly at the peaks and valleys of the folds.
What is your favourite detail in the project?
Our favourite detail is where the roof cascades down to make the columns for the veranda. The steps and folds inform both the external and internal faces of the columns and disappear into a vertical element in a way inspired by the area’s Art Deco history. We like the cladding interfaces, with render picking up the tip of the column; while the terrazzo, a shadow gap away, connects with the verandah’s internal warmth, bringing in a bit of external textured wall into a ‘protected’ space.
Are there lessons from this project which might be applied elsewhere?
The project questions how to design a home for the elderly and how to do this without just following rote requirements. It is obviously about creating a space that is easily accessible and safe to use, but also one that feels comfortable. Most importantly it’s a space that helps minimise loneliness – a big issue for an ageing population. This annex offers the chance for a mother/grandmother to spend a greater amount of time per year surrounded by her family, who are just a small garden away!
Katerina Dionysopoulou is director of Bureau de Change
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Key data:
Total contract cost £95,000
Area of extension 30m2
GIFA cost per m2 £3160
Credits
Client Private
Contractor Stec Construction Ltd
Structural engineer Element Structures
Landscape designer Tulip Landscape