Kings Road House

Location: London

Brick Manufacturer: Wienerberger Limited

Brick Name: Marziale

Architect: Matthew Giles Architects

Brickwork Contractor: IC&T Projects

Through a tactile approach to massing and architectural detailing, this boldly transformed home now enhances the character of the street, and is a contemporary equivalent to the traditional brick homes along Kings Road.

The client is a family of four who approached Matthew Giles Architects to develop designs to extend, remodel and refurbish their south London home. The client saw an opportunity to create a bespoke home and expressed an interest in modifying the appearance of the building externally, while improving the thermal efficiency of their detached home.

Following a study of local Victorian buildings, the architects developed a modern interpretation to the traditional brick home which re-establishes the design principles of the South Park Gardens Conservation Area, by reinstating brickwork to all façades in place of white render. This included a series of front, side and rear extensions, alongside a new sheltered front porch and a bay window. At the rear, a full width dormer has expanded the internal living spaces, together with an inset dormer/balcony to the front roof slope.

A new masonry canopy unifies the front elevation and was designed to emulate traditional brick banding across surrounding Victorian houses. The new sheltered front porch is carefully articulated using heavy masonry elements and poured in-situ concrete, leading the visitor towards the front door. Chamfered edges are a consistent form throughout the home and entice views while reducing impact on neighbours. To provide a lighter, more monolithic appearance, a textured limewash process – a mix of white cement, lime and sand known in Scandinavia as ‘Sækkeskuring’ – was used over the face of brickwork.

To establish a continuity of language, the rear façade and side elevation treatment features the same limewashed brick finish, while gutters are concealed behind parapets and deep reveals to create a sense of robust solidity.

The entire house has been insulated on the outside of the existing solid brickwork walls with an insulated brick slip system, Eurobrick, which offers significantly better thermal efficiency than insulating on the inside with insulated plasterboard.

Parts of the front and rear walls have been retained, along with the first-floor floor structure and as many internal partitions as possible. Kings Road House now boasts a new ‘C” rated EPC score: the highest possible rating without renewable energy systems – a radical increase on the previous ’F’ rated EPC.

The L-shaped rear extensions make the most of the sunlight throughout the day, and exposed elements contrast the new building fabric, with a simple interior material palette providing a strong focus on quality and texture – including bespoke joinery throughout designed by Matthew Giles Architects.

Designed to exacting requirements providing generous living spaces full of warmth and life, this home now centres around connection, quality and texture. The top floor roof space now features 3 extra bedrooms and a bathroom with an open mezzanine accessed via the birch ply lined hallway. Kings Road House does not feel grand, rather an exemplar of natural, sustainable materials that stands as an ornament for the area.