Heath House

Abundant Light and Natural Materials

A materially rich refurbishment, extension, and basement project to a beautiful Grade II Listed stucco’d villa in Highgate, North London. Onerous planning considerations, overlooking windows, flying freeholds and existing underground constraints required meticulous navigation. This cradle of complex constraints have born innovative beautiful architecture for the family of four to enjoy, creating a sanctuary for well being with abundant light, natural materials and exuberant landscaping.

Simple volumes articulated with natural light and craft

Tasked with extending above and below ground, development potential has been maximised with simple volumes, crisply articulated with natural light and craft. The extensions are designed as a series of three, crisply detailed, rectangular volumes that cascade towards the landscaped garden reducing in size and shape. At the back the highest volume is defined with a full width linear roof light, permeating light into the heart of the plan. The kitchen and dining space has a lower ceiling, constrained by the Listed garden wall height, which is celebrated with exposed oiled Douglas Fir beams forming warmly toned coffered soffits. The third volume houses the split stair to the basements and is pushed lower still to sit under neighbouring windows but enjoys expansive views of the planted light well.

Design with light

The rear patio is formed with sandblasted glazed pavement light construction which filters a lovely diffuse light to the basement room below. Together with the planted stepped light well (forming a means of escape from the basement) the room enjoys a unique quality of light that ensures its status as a principal space within the home. A wall of mirror reflects the light and helps play a volumetric game with the sense of space. In the kitchen light pours in from clerestory glazing and the full width roof light that disconnects the new extensions from the listed building.

A rich natural material palette pervades, painted plaster board was largely avoided! Robust variegated white brickwork, brushed with lime, is continued internally where it is paired with oiled Douglas fir (to structure, joinery, linings and kitchen), white/grey resin based terrazzo (to floors, kitchen worktops and island), and light pink natural clay plaster. The grand front rooms to the home are left volumetrically as found with new oak parquet floors, oak joinery and monolithic decoration. The upper floors were previously renovated and were predominantly untouched.

Biodiversity Net Gain

All of the warm deck roofs are heavily insulated and have green roofs resulting in a biodiversity net gain of 13%. Abundant timber construction and sheet materials were specified for their material richness but also to promote sequestered carbon.