Glass

Extension

The Design Challenge

The clients sought to enhance their 1970s home with improved access, abundant natural light, and better connection to the surrounding gardens. The existing property, designed and built by Bob and Tim Organ in the early 1970s, possessed genuine architectural merit but lacked a defined entrance and suffered from an awkward internal plan that limited its potential.

The hillside location presented immediate technical constraints. Built directly upon solid rock, the site offered limited scope for conventional foundations. The existing plan’s irregular geometry created planning challenges, whilst the need to preserve the home’s modernist character required a design response that complemented rather than competed with the original architecture.

The brief called for a substantial entrance hall capable of accommodating a future staircase to a new upper floor, a large kitchen and dining space with extensive glazing, and interventions that would remain faithful to the property’s 1970s design heritage.

The Architectural Response

The design concept establishes two distinct glazed wings positioned either side of the existing structure, creating a composition that reads as contemporary pavilions in dialogue with the original building. This approach transforms the home’s relationship with its setting whilst clearly distinguishing new from old.

The entrance wing rises as a glass-walled volume that establishes immediate clarity of arrival. Its generous ceiling height accommodates future vertical circulation, whilst floor-to-ceiling glazing dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior from the moment of entry. This transparent structure creates an architectural “hinge” between arrival sequence and living spaces.

The kitchen and dining extension extends into the garden as a fully glazed pavilion, its transparent walls capturing panoramic views across the hillside landscape. The open-plan arrangement creates a natural gathering space that functions as the home’s social heart, with direct visual and physical connection to outdoor spaces throughout the day.

Technical Innovation and Material Strategy

Glass forms the primary architectural language of both extensions, selected for its ability to create transparency and visual lightness whilst establishing clear architectural distinction from the rendered masonry of the original building. The extensive glazing maximises natural light penetration and maintains visual connection with the landscape from multiple aspects.

The challenging rock foundation conditions drove the structural strategy. Rather than attempting to excavate or modify the solid rock substrate, the extensions employ lightweight construction that transfers loads efficiently whilst minimising ground disturbance. This approach respected both the site’s geological constraints and the surrounding landscape, allowing the new structures to sit upon the rock outcrop with minimal environmental impact.

The design maintains careful proportional relationships with the existing building, ensuring the new glazed volumes enhance rather than overwhelm the original structure. High ceilings in both extensions create architectural drama whilst providing practical capacity for future modifications.

The Completed Project

The transformation establishes Somerfoss as a distinctive example of contemporary intervention within modernist architecture. The glazed entrance wing creates an immediately welcoming arrival experience, whilst the kitchen extension has become the natural focus for family life – a bright, expansive space that connects seamlessly with the gardens beyond.

The project demonstrates how respectful addition can revitalise period architecture, bringing fresh spatial qualities whilst preserving the design principles that made the original building significant. The transparent pavilions read as contemporary structures that honour rather than mimic their 1970s counterpart, creating architectural conversation between different eras.

Key Features

• Two contemporary glazed pavilions flanking the original 1970s structure
• Entrance hall with generous ceiling height accommodating future staircase
• Open-plan kitchen and dining extension with floor-to-ceiling glazing
• Panoramic views across hillside gardens and landscape
• Lightweight construction responding to solid rock foundation conditions
• Design sensitive to modernist architectural heritage
• Featured in The Modern House
• Commissioned through RIBA “Architect in the House” scheme

The project’s architectural quality gained recognition through its feature in The Modern House, whilst the clients’ response confirms the success of the design approach in creating a home that balances contemporary comfort with respect for its modernist origins.