House Extension at Cappahard

Redirecting the house to the south.

 

Like many housing estate dwellings, the existing living space was inadequate to accommodate a growing family. Apart from needing more room in the house, the design challenge lay in the existing position of the kitchen/dining space situated at the darkest corner of the house with the utility blocking the daylight from the south. The basic idea of the proposal is to swap the living and services spaces, bringing the utility and WC to the area receiving the least daylight and bringing the living space to face the sunny side of the house. 

 

The new extension has been arranged to limit the encroachment into the garden. By projecting the building in two directions, this existing corner of the house forms a linchpin around which different spaces can be arranged and clearly defined: (i) Kitchen, (ii) Dining, (iii) Sitting area and (iv) Verandah.

Window heights and rooflight positions ensure that even the northwest facing area will receive direct sunlight. The veranda is an area that facilitates the use of outdoor space in all weather. It helps to break up the 3 indoor living spaces into well defined zones. Externally, it helps to unify the building form and when seen from the front and rear gardens, it’s roof and supporting column help to merge and intertwine the building visually with the garden.