Project 119
Cassland Road
Hackney · Conservation area
An excavated basement conversion and full refurbishment of a period house in a Hackney conservation area, tied together by a glass-supported stair that rises through the whole house.
01Excavated basement conversion
02Glass-supported stair through the house
03Rear extension and full refurbishment
Hackney Council granted planning permission in 2013 for a basement extension, a single-storey rear extension and alterations to the two-storey back addition, with new windows and rooflights. A further consent in 2014 allowed the boundary wall to Poole Road to be rebuilt.
To the street, the house keeps its original character within the conservation area. To the rear, a new glazed extension opens the house to the garden and draws daylight deep into the plan.
The stair
A stair that floats on glass
The oak treads float on glass. Spanning between the walls, glazed panels rest on one another and carry the treads, so the stair reads as a series of solid timber steps suspended in light.
It runs through the entire house, from the new basement upwards. Each flight was engineered and coordinated with the structure around it, which made it the most technically demanding part of the project.
The basement
Excavating beneath a period house
The basement was excavated and converted into habitable rooms, adding a full new level to the house without changing its appearance from the street.
Daylight reaches it through the glazed rear extension and rooflights, and the glass stair lets light pass down through the house.
Gallery
The house
Your project
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