Pied a Terre

A lower ground floor, one-bedroom, garden flat in dire need of modernisation was purchased as a guest accommodation and personal secondary residence. The client, with the courage and vision to undertake the necessary changes, provided a brief to expand the living room by merging it with the hallway, to create a new layout for the kitchen and bathroom and introduce natural light by replacing an old sash window with French doors, which enhances the connection to a remodelled rear garden. The whole flat underwent a full redesign with new plumbing and electrics, with high spec materials and custom joinery throughout.

Future-proofing measures included removing asbestos from the hallway, applying damp-proofing treatments to the walls, and installing a new damp-proof concrete floor.

The most significant challenge was installing structural beams with the use of supporting needles at the floor above, without cracking the walls of the upper floors, which had recently undergone a high-spec interior renovation.

The revised layout necessitated a comprehensive revision of the fire strategy, including installing a sprinkler system and a jib door on an alarm-triggered retainer to separate the bedroom from the living room and kitchen, which contains the new stairs leading to the upstairs hallway.