This project transforms a 1985 suburban house into a contemporary, light-filled family home. Located within an established residential neighbourhood, the design responds to the clients’ brief for flexible, sustainable, and adaptable living. The original footprint is retained, while the pitched roof is replaced with a flat roof, adding an additional storey and unifying previous extensions into a cohesive composition.
The home maintains a domestic scale, respecting the proportions of surrounding houses, while mature landscaping anchors the building within its suburban context. Generous openings and carefully framed views to the garden and St. Germain’s Loch enhance the connection to the landscape, maximising natural light and openness.
Inside, the layout prioritises activity over conventional rooms, creating fluid transitions between living, dining, working, and sleeping areas. The adaptable plan supports future expansion or reconfiguration, ensuring long-term flexibility. Thoughtful material choices and spatial organisation create clarity, warmth, and practicality throughout the home.
Sustainability is embedded throughout. A high-performance envelope, airtight construction, and enhanced insulation enable mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and air-source heat pumps, while extensive reuse of existing materials reduces embodied carbon. The alteration balances environmental responsibility with architectural clarity, demonstrating how careful design can redefine a suburban dwelling.
