Barnsbury House

A new lower ground floor playroom for a mid-19th-century Grade II listed townhouse in Barnsbury. Paul Archer Design have nestled the new play space into the rear light well of the house, sheltered by a glass lantern that floods the room with daylight from above.

The playroom extends the lower ground floor kitchen and dining room, giving parents a clear line of sight to keep a watchful eye over young children. Overhead glazing lifts the view up toward the rear garden, and the openness brings the outside in without compromising the privacy of the existing fabric.

A WC and a small utility space are tucked in beneath the new upper ground floor extension, making compact use of the previously unused light well. The glass lantern spans the gap between the neighbouring brick wall and the replacement brick closet extension, which has been enlarged to give the house additional cloak storage. The transparency of the glass infill preserves the rhythm of the historic terrace, while the delicately handled construction details let the new work sit respectfully alongside the historic fabric of the main house.

Project budget 200,000 GBP. Completed in 2018. Five building levels in total.

Architecture by Paul Archer Design, with Richard Gill as project architect. Construction by Neighbour Construction. Photography by Paul Archer Design.