Reservoir Road

A modern intervention to an Arts & Crafts style house in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton overlooking the Cheshire plains. The objective of this scheme was to create a contemporary two storey side & part two storey single storey rear extension along with internal modernisation of this detached house set in substantial grounds.

Like many houses of this design & era, although benefitting from a large footprint the ground floor, they suffer from being divided up into small rooms with a lack of natural light. Characteristically, these houses have small kitchens & large formal dining spaces which are remote from the living rooms or lounge area. This is the opposite of what many families require from a modern home, which is namely a large open family/kitchen/dining space filled with natural light which acts as the focal hub of the house & taking advantage of the south facing aspect & views into the large garden.

The extension is set well back from the front of the main house. This retains much of the original side gable elevation of the house so that features such as the chimney stack, brick dental detailing etc. are retained reducing the impact of the new element & maintaining the attractive corner elevation from the street scene.

The glazed link which forms the junction between the existing & new is lower than the main house eaves & below the main roof of the proposed extension. This ‘light touch’ is a feature delicately links the new element to the traditional building. The resulting extension has a strong identity of its’ own but still manages to be subservient to the original house.

The extension to the rear of the Arts & Crafts house is as rigorously modern as the front. This is not only to differentiate between the two eras but to continue the ‘light touch’ between the structures & not create awkward or contrived junctions with the varying roof pitches of the main house roof. The extension shows a two storey element which houses the Master Bedroom which opens onto a terrace with views across to Cheshire. At ground floor level the wraparound glazing creates a light filled lounge linking it with the extensive garden. A cantilevered canopy & brise-soleil blur the boundary between the inside & out.

Working with period houses can be quite a challenge, but in this case the Local Authority Planning Officer agreed with our modern approach rather than a pastiche of the original, commenting:

“The property is detached & already quite ‘individual’ in its design and layout – I think a modern approach is appropriate….Completely agree about the roof arrangement. I counted at least six different designs & angles of pitch!! For that reason, I agree that something more contemporary works better than trying to design something that ‘blends’ with the existing.”

Local Authority Planning Officer

Year: 2023
Client: Private
Location: Woolton, Liverpool