Urban basements are an increasingly tricky proposal, often vehemently opposed by neighbours and unfavoured by the planners. In this case, the clients had no choice but to act: a botched basement next door meant their house was failing structurally, and an enlarged basement storey was the best way of propping up the Victorian terraced house above.
The brief called for an extended living space, with the dining area, kitchen and living room all on one level (previously there was a full storey height difference between the ground floor living room and rear/basement kitchen/dining room). By sinking the floor of the existing cellar and removing the floor of the front room altogether, CB Architects created a well-lit double-height dining area at the front of the house leading in to a galley kitchen and then in to a large living room with a wood burner at the rear, and finally to the sunken terrace garden.
The rear part of the former living room is left as a sealed mezzanine room for watching tv or playing video games, internal windows overlooking the basement spaces to front and rear. Above, the bedrooms and bathrooms were re-modelled within the existing house envelope. The basement floor creates a classic en-filade arrangement of spaces and a stunning long dimension view through the full length of the site, while the front and back access stairs provide a circular route, the ‘promenade architecturale’ loved by architects, small children and dogs!
