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SELF BUILDING
How to Design an Extension
With the average cost of moving house topping £10,000, like John and Terry Westlake’s Peterborough Grand Design we often choose to improve rather than move. So how do you make sure you get it right when you do extend?
Jon and Terri’s extension to their Peterborough home really works because it adds a pleasing rhythm to an otherwise square and boxy building. The glass walkway connecting the extension to the main building is perfectly proportioned.
For Jon and Terri it was a simple choice to follow the same style, but what if you have an older or listed property? It’s easy to do pastiche, but hardly exciting so how do you create a contemporary extension that still works?
Finding an architect can work wonders for any extension. It might seem unnecessary, but a skilled architect can add vision to an extension to an existing house. When you look at a project you can’t just look at the extension. You have to look at the whole house, including the garden, the relationship with the neighbours, and the wider surroundings. An architect is trained to have an expert understanding of these relationships between building and environment.
Most important when extending an old building is looking for the key traits of the original design. What qualities are there in the existing building that could be incorporated into a modern extension? How can these qualities be given a contemporary treatment?
