The British Architecture Practice Studio Merlin has Hoj House, a Victorian house in Stoke Newington, updated with a wildflow expansion that relies on the Scandinavian design.
The Hoj House named after the Danish word for High House occupies the end of a 19th century terrace, which is characterized by four -story high apartments with narrow gardens in the rear.
The expansion of Studio Merlin extends the lower ground floor of the house into the garden with a “deeply functional but deliberately playful” kitchen and dining area, which aims to promote life indoors and outdoors.
“Our customers wanted a flexible space that would enable a seamless activity flow from the outside to the inside, especially in summer for family meetings,” founder Josh Piddock told Dezen.
The extensive extension, which consists of neutral concrete blocks, is deliberately with the honey -colored London camp stone of the original house and the border walls.
“The material palette was deliberately neutral to draw attention to the natural elements and to deliver a balanced and warm minimalist aesthetics,” said Piddock.
After the Scandinavian design, Timber takes strong in the entire design and is mainly left with a natural finish. This includes pink and yellow tinted Douglas-Fir.
A rotating glass door, which is naturally lined up from the natural red Grandis, grants access to a specific terrace that is flanked by a planter and rises to a small lawn.
There is a minimalist bank on the outer wall of the expansion under a large window, which corresponds to the masonry blocks of the extension.
“A committed place for morning coffee and fresh air was reached that embedded garden activities directly into the architectural form of the building,” said Piddock.
In order to further integrate the expansion into the garden, it has a polished concrete floor that refers to the terrace. This was the key to creating the feeling of a “dining room in a garden” from which the studio was one of the main inquiries of the customer.
The structure is crowned by a wildflower meadow, which is pierced by two large frameless skylights, which pull natural light into the dining area below. It is supported by Douglas Fir -Sparen, which are uncovered as a characteristic.
This wild floral roof is designed in such a way that the rainwater drainage is slow and reduces the floods because the house is in one of the district's critical drainage points.
“The main challenge in the project was to make both the deep wildflower, the isolated roof and the exposed wood structure within the height restrictions imposed by the planning department,” said Piddock.
This was overcome by the implementation of a gentle roof instead of a flat roof in order to generate additional height in the room.
Behind the kitchen on the street there is a guest room, your own bathroom and a supply room to visit visiting friends and family.
With the expansion that “minimize the effects on the existing building”, the upper floors remain largely unchanged.
The updates include a revision of the family bathroom, in which Studio Merlin Steinboden and Warm Gypsum Walls have introduced.
Elsewhere, renovated oak boels and a stripped staircase and balustrade offer a visual continuity with the expansion and the pastel color palette of the furniture and ceilings.
“The family pool on the second floor behind the main bedroom was completely replaced by a minimal pastel plaster wall and a warm stone floor,” said Piddock.
“This offers a spacious and quiet bathroom with an open shower in wet room style, a free -standing bathtub and separate laundry,” he added.
“The interventions in the Hoj House are deeply functional and yet deliberately playful,” concluded Piddock. “During the entire architecture we tried to create opportunities for stories – just ask the fox that camped on the wild floral roof.”
Elsewhere in London, Studio Merlin recently changed his founder's apartment with a “spectrum of storage”.
Also in the capital, OEB Architects have recently completed a colorful loft expansion, which was created by Italian palazzos and paintings and office -s & m that have expanded a house in Hackney that is aimed at “both human and cat dwellers”.
Photography comes from Richard Chivers.
Project loan:
Architect and interiors: Studio Merlin
Engineer: Corbett & Tasker and Whitby Wood
Civil engineer: TJ infrastructure