BRIEF

The practice was commissioned to convert a derelict 16th century timber framed cottage on the perimeter of the Riverside Country Park by the Spitalfields Trust and to design enabling residential accommodation to facilitate the repair of this grade II listed building.

CHALLENGES

The project encountered numerous challenges, most notably the design of the enabling extension, which was to be contemporary in appearance yet sensitive aesthetically and subservient in scale to the existing building. The building also required relocation due to the encroachment of the B2004 on the north elevation after its widening in the 1990’s.

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

The extension was positioned to the east of the existing building to mitigate its visual impact from the B2004, this also enabled a seamless axis of circulation through the living spaces of the building. The contemporary extension utilises a monotone palette of materials that will weather with age and this will provide a contrast with the stained weatherboarding and thatched roof of the cottage.