Contemporary

Extension

The Brief: Creating a Contemporary Family Hub

The clients approached MJW Architects with a clear vision: replace the existing piecemeal extensions with a contemporary design offering abundant natural light, park views, and open-plan living as the heart of family life. The brief called for spaces that would accommodate the varied rhythms of modern living—formal dining, casual family time, home working, and quiet retreat—all within a cohesive architectural response.

The site presented specific technical challenges, including a sloping garden and the structural complexity of achieving a column-free corner that would maximise views and spatial flow. These practical requirements sat alongside the rigorous planning constraints of Bath’s Conservation Area designation and World Heritage Site status, where contemporary interventions require carefully calibrated design responses.

Design Approach: Unified Contemporary Language

The architectural strategy replaces fragmented earlier additions with a coherent wrap-around extension that establishes a refined contemporary character. External timber wall cladding defines the new volumes, creating visual distinction from the original 1970s house whilst introducing warmth and texture that responds to Bath’s prevailing material palette.

Extensive glazing forms the cornerstone of the design, maximising natural light penetration and framing views across Royal Victoria Park and the Georgian townscape beyond. The glazed corner—a defining feature of the scheme—employs bi-directional opening doors that dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, creating spatial continuity with the garden and enhancing the sense of openness the clients prioritised.

To mitigate solar gain whilst maintaining transparency, external timber slats overlay the glazing, providing passive shading that prevents overheating without compromising the connection to the landscape. This layered approach balances environmental performance with the architectural ambition for a light-filled interior.

Technical Solutions: Structural Innovation

Achieving the column-free corner demanded close structural coordination. The design eliminates intermediate supports at the building’s most prominent juncture, allowing uninterrupted 270-degree views and creating the spatial generosity the clients sought. This structural clarity reinforces the architectural concept whilst demonstrating technical expertise in managing loads and cantilevers within the constraints of the existing building fabric.

The sloping site required careful level management to integrate the extension seamlessly with both house and garden, ensuring accessible thresholds and coherent floor-to-ceiling heights throughout the new spaces.

The Result: Light, Space, and Park Views

The completed extension delivers flexible open-plan accommodation that functions as the home’s primary living hub. Kitchen and dining spaces flow into one another, supported by ancillary rooms—larder, study, den—that provide practical storage and quieter zones for concentrated work or retreat. The column-free corner becomes the scheme’s focal point, where floor-to-ceiling glazing captures morning light and frames panoramic park views.

Externally, the extension establishes a more refined street presence, replacing the visual clutter of earlier additions with a considered contemporary composition. The timber cladding and glazed corner create architectural interest whilst demonstrating how modern interventions can enhance Conservation Area settings when designed with sensitivity and precision.

The project provides the adaptable, light-filled environment the clients envisaged—a home equipped for modern family life and home working, with spaces that respond to changing daily needs whilst maintaining connection to Bath’s exceptional landscape setting.