Glass House

A basement that let a growing family stay put in north London.

Home to the Glass family, this 1930s brick and pebble-dashed semi in north London had begun to feel cramped as the household grew. An earlier round of work in the 1990s had already added a loft conversion, a matching two-storey brick side extension and a framed glass infill with bi-fold doors to the rear. The upper floors worked well, but the kitchen and dining area remained awkward and quick to clutter.

Moving seemed the obvious answer, yet larger homes nearby were scarce and mostly needed full refurbishment. Once the cost of buying, refurbishing, stamp duty and fees was added up, the family felt stuck. The brief that emerged was simple: create a space where the family could relax, play and have fun, freeing the kitchen and dining areas of clutter and returning the reception rooms to the adults.

The answer was a basement. A large reinforced concrete box extends from the spine wall of the house, running the full width of the plot into the garden beneath a newly formed patio. It reads as three bays, defined inside by the structural elements that carry the existing house above and outside by three large walkover rooflights set neatly into the joint lines of the patio.

At ground level, the first task was to resolve the kitchen and dining area. The underused garage gave up space as the dividing wall was pushed back and the kitchen reconfigured for an easier flow. The old framed glass infill was replaced with a larger structurally glazed box, shaped to funnel daylight down into the basement through a new staircase. Those stairs lead to a light-filled subterranean media room with an acoustic ceiling, along with a study, a guest suite, generous storage and a utility space.

Completed in 2014 on a budget of USD 360,000, Glass House shows how a well-considered basement can answer a family's needs without the upheaval of moving.

Architecture by Paul Archer Design. Photography by Andy Stagg.