The clients, Janice Turner, who leads the uniform design studio Field Grey, Mike Blackwell, and their dog Queenie, approached Office S&M to replace a poorly built lean-to behind their terraced house in Walthamstow. They wanted the new extension to be clearly different from the late 1800’s property, while still being related in scale to it. They challenged Office S&M to design an extension that contained both a bathroom and a kitchen that each looked over the garden.
Project : Janus House
Location : Springfield Road, Walthamstow, London
Architect : Office S&M www.officesandm.com
Client : Janice Turner www.field-grey.com and Mike Blackwell www.toolshedmusic.com
Engineers : MDA Structures www.mdastructures.co.uk
Polyurea Cladding : ESW www.esw.company
Kitchen Design and Fabrication : Toby Mower www.tobymower.com
Light : Hand Eye Studio www.handandeyestudio.co.uk
Window and door : Cotswold Windows www.cotswoldwindows.co.uk
Reclaimed bathroom : Mongers Architectural Salvage www.mongersofhingham.co.uk
Completed : May 2018
Cost: £110,000
Area: 20m2
Office S&M’s design made best use of the restricted space by splitting the extension diagonally with a storage wall. This wall removed the need for separate circulation space by hiding the bathroom, shower and storage while also directing and framing views of the garden. In the kitchen, this gives a fantastic daylit space, while the bathroom has a view over the garden from the tub.
The “two faced” nature of the design is exhibited externally by the shape of the window, door and rooflights. The side with circular openings contains the bathroom, while the rectangular side is the kitchen. These motifs responded to fixtures and fittings that Janice and Mike had already bought for the extension, such as the kitchen table, terracotta pendant light, and pastel 1930’s bathroom suite. The contrasting circle and square geometry of the windows was developed from these existing pieces to link the exterior of the extension to the interior, and these motifs continue throughout details of the project from rectangular light switches to circular door pulls.
The sprayed on rubber exterior creates a monolithic background which wraps the two halves of the extension together. This unusual industrial material, Prokol polyurea, was chosen because of its low cost, seamless finish, and contrast with the existing brickwork of the terraced house. The spray on polyurea, installed by ESW, was originally developed for oil rigs: the material is waterproof, won’t weather, and is guaranteed for 60 years. To complement the rubber, industrial materials are used inside, such as a polished concrete floor, zinc worktop, and encaustic swimming pool tiles. These durable materials are warmed up with a yellow colourscheme that changes in intensity from the canary yellow Formica kitchen cupboards, to the soft butter coloured tiles in the bathroom.
Hugh McEwen, partner at Office S&M, and project architect, commented “At Office S&M we design bespoke buildings, which always elicit a response from the people who see them, and this house does just that. Janice and Mike wanted something out of the ordinary, but on a budget. Our understanding of what they wanted, and our creative approach to the project, has led on to more work with them, including a future loft extension and garden studio.”
You can view a short video of the spray on rubber being applied via one of these links :
30 seconds : https://youtu.be/Bdm1JJ0Bv3s
3 minutes : https://youtu.be/hiclia_eBHo
Office S&M
Office S&M is a London based architecture practice that designs buildings which always elicit a response. Formed in 2013 by business partners Catrina Stewart and Hugh McEwen, the practice works on a variety of new-build housing, high street regeneration, and public realm projects. The practice designs bespoke solutions for its clients, to create projects that celebrate the colour, materiality, and narratives of the everyday use of these new spaces. This has been recognised in the practice winning “Best Use of Materials” at the New London Architecture “Don’t Move, Improve!” awards, being Nominated for The Architects’ Journal “Small Projects” Award, and the practice’s work appearing in Grand Designs Magazine, The Evening Standard, The Guardian, and on the BBC.
Alternative:
This “two faced” black rubber extension, called Janus House, was added to an existing terraced house in Walthamstow. Named after the two-faced Roman god Janus, the design is split in two in plan and elevation. Office S&M designed the extension to contain a bathroom and a kitchen that both looked over the garden, with a limited budget. The design made best use of the restricted space by splitting the extension diagonally with a storage wall. This wall removed the need for separate circulation space by hiding the bathroom, shower and storage while also directing and framing views of the garden. In the kitchen, this gives a fantastic daylit space, while the bathroom has a view of the garden from the tub.
The “two faced” nature of the design is exhibited externally by the placement and shape of the window, door and rooflights. The side with circular openings contains the bathroom, while the rectangular side is the kitchen. The sprayed on rubber exterior creates a monolithic background which wraps the two halves of the extension together. This unusual industrial material, Prokol polyurea, was chosen because of its low cost, seamless finish, and contrast with the existing brickwork of the terraced house. The spray on polyurea installed by ESW was originally developed for oil rigs: the material is waterproof, won’t weather, and is guaranteed for 60 years. To complement the rubber, industrial materials are used inside, such as a polished concrete floor, zinc worktop, and encaustic swimming pool tiles. These durable materials are warmed up with a yellow colourscheme that changes in intensity from the canary yellow Formica kitchen cupboards, to the soft butter coloured tiles in the bathroom.
The creative clients, Janice Turner, who leads the uniform design studio Field Grey, and Mike Blackwell, who founded Toolshed Music recording studio, approached Office S&M to replace an existing, poorly built, lean-to at the rear of their terraced house. They were keen for the new 25m2 extension to be clearly different from the late 1800’s terraced property, while still being related in scale to it. The design responded to fixtures and fittings that Janice and Mike had already bought for the extension, such as the kitchen table, terracotta pendant light, and pastel 1930’s bathroom suite. The contrasting circle and square geometry of the windows was developed from these existing pieces to link the exterior of the extension to the interior, and these motifs continue throughout details of the project from rectangular light switches to circular door pulls.
