Transparent light
The project is a mid-19th century townhouse, and the project aims to open up the light and height of these lower floors, transforming them into spaces suitable for modern family living. The designers created two voids in the lower floors of the house, which greatly improved the height, daylighting and volumetric quality of the lower floors. Although structurally challenging, the spatial advantages of the scheme are clear.
A void introduces elegant staircases and light wells, improving the connection between the main floors. The other, located in the basement, has been recreated as a small outdoor garden space that reconnects the home with nature and fresh air.
The ash cantilevered staircase defines the entrance foyer, while also cleverly combining accessible columns and stair heights, as well as handrails embedded in the walls, to assist owners with reduced mobility. Elegant open treads cascade around vertically arranged balustrade 'screens' that hang through the space, allowing natural light to penetrate between floors.
Solid ash parquet flooring is laid throughout the floor, dark flooring on the first floor to complement and contrast the more spacious ceiling heights, and white painted flooring in the basement to reflect light and enhance the sense of space in the underground space. Custom-made ash joinery in the hallways and study continues this material and high-quality craftsmanship.