The brief was to open up the visual and physical connections to the garden and view from the house and to tie together the ground and basement floors of the house. The original basement storage area was to be converted to create a new living space with direct access to the garden with a new guest bedroom, shower room and utility room to the rear.

The site is a stone semi-detached Victorian house on Riverside Road, Wormit. The house is built into a slope with two storeys on the street side and a basement storey which is at the level of the rear garden. An existing narrow stair connected to the subterranean rear of the basement. Considering the northerly outlook and exposed site, we proposed to extend the dining space with a bay window and create a new stair to give direct access to a new light living space below with connections to the garden.

The new overtly contemporary bay window slides out through the skin of the original building cantilevering out towards the Tay Bridge. This floor to ceiling glass box creates a light airy sitting and dining space. Full height shelves line a new stair slot with overhanging plywood desk to maximise the useable space above. Directly below this bespoke plywood shelves for vinyl records hide a sliding partition which gives flexibility to the use of the new living space below. New external paving and lighting enhance the garden space in front of the new windows.

The new basement spaces have been created to accommodate the changing living requirements of a growing family.

The new living space will provide a second living room that can be acoustically separated from the dining-kitchen space above. The new bedroom allows for visitors to have their own area. While areas of glazing are large they allow for effective daylighting of well used living spaces that were previously rather dingy, inaccessible and in some cases unuseable. New glazing has high thermal performance and the basement areas have been highly insulated

Award Citation

An excellent example of how to achieve a lot from a little.
This small, poised intervention has sensitively transformed the living environment of a Victorian home into something bright and modern.
It uses every inch of its plan to the limit, creating fluid links between spaces whilst managing to incorporate a workspace and mini library at interfaces.

The few strategic windows added ensure that the external environment becomes part of the interior whilst declaring a proud new identity.