Approached by a young couple to convert a 70s fully detached villa to accommodate their contemporary lifestyle, our design intent was to retain as much of the character of the villa as possible whilst allowing more light to infiltrate the space.
We started off by remodelling the front garden boundary wall, allowing the greenery within the garden to sneak through the vertical louvered steel structure. The angled plot was made regular through a play of displaced planes, forming a semi-public planter whilst enclosing a more welcoming and defined entrance landing. The fence allows for an interesting backdrop within the garden whilst ensuring privacy from the street.
The entrance corridor was punctured by a full height vertical slit window allowing the entrance to read like a defined open corner internally whilst allowing light to infiltrate. Upon entering the villa one obtains a direct view of the kitchen and pool beyond, all other spaces are concealed from the entrance but open up seamlessly once inside. The kitchen and dining space are enclosed within a glass volume contrasting sharply with the otherwise more insular spaces.
A pool was introduced in the back garden, strategically located to ensure a direct connection with the heart of the internal living spaces whilst also ensuring that we retained as many of the mature trees as possible. The existing paved garden paths were filled with soil to form a larger playing field for the family surrounded by trees.
