Merlyn Park

The owners, one of whom grew up in the house, wished to adapt it for their growing family and significantly improve its energy performance.

Merlyn Park is a curved street that links Merrion Road to Ailesbury Road and was constructed by builders G & T Crampton circa. 1934. These semi-detached houses feature semi-circular bay windows to the front and part-brick, part-rendered facades with distinctive portico entrances.

The layout of the house was largely as-built, but with the addition of a conservatory and a single-storey rear extension built in the 1980’s containing a small kitchen, den and utility room.

The design we developed involved the removal of these additions and the construction of a wrap-around, part-single, part-two storey extension. Our intervention is relatively compact in form for reasons of spatial efficiency, economy and reduced environmental impact.

The kitchen is placed at the centre of the plan, with spaces for dining, lounging and play, facing the back garden. A long rooflight runs along the back wall of the house, bringing light into these living spaces, which are interconnected but functionally zoned. The fenestration in the den is made lower with more narrowly spaced mullions to create a more intimate feel. The play area is separated by a bookshelf with concealed sliding doors that can close off this space if required.

At first floor level, a new master bedroom, en suite and dressing room is placed within a two-storey element flanking the side of the original house. A deeply recessed window lights the corridor linking these spaces and articulates the extension in relation to the house.
We selected a simple material pallet of clay brick for the facades with cast in-situ parapet and banding details that relate to the original house. Similar detailing is used in the construction of the hearth in the den. European oak is used for the flooring and the exposed steel elements are highlighted in blue. An air-to water heat pump and fabric insulation measures help to achieve an A3 BER rating.

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