Residential ArchitectureFeatured Houses

The Garden House

Architects & Firms

De Matos Ryan

London

Site Size: 9,310 square feet

Project Size: 1,830 square feet

Program:
A recently-married couple'with a blended family of eight children'had outgrown their existing 2,960-square-foot, four-bedroom Victorian home they settled into. Not wanting to move, they hired the London-based firm De Matos Ryan to refurbish the house and build a second one at the opposite end of the property. The parents and youngest children live in the new structure, while the older children occupy the main house.

Location:
The 9,310-square-foot property is located in Battersea, in southwest London, near the River Thames. The new 1,830-square-foot structure, along the western edge of the property, replaces a potting shed and a greenhouse in the backyard garden and is partially below grade to protect the sightlines of neighboring properties. A footpath running through the garden connects the two houses.

Solution:
The sunken, two-level house is comprised of two clean white rectangular volumes with a smaller stone- and cedar-clad volume in between. Entered via a metal bridge on the upper level, residents descend to the glass-lined first level for the master suite and main living and dining spaces, where sliding glass doors open out to a courtyard with watertight white concrete walls and floors for flood prevention. Four bedrooms and two bathrooms are above.

Construction methods:
The house relies on two structural materials: poured-in-place reinforced concrete for the lower level and second-floor slab, and timber frames for the walls and roof above. The upper level around the timbers is clad in an external wall insulation material.

Architect:
De Matos Ryan
99-100 Turnmill Street
EC1M 5QP London
020 7336 0100
www.dematosryan.co.uk

People

Architect:
De Matos Ryan
99-100 Turnmill Street
EC1M 5QP London
020 7336 0100
www.dematosryan.co.uk

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:
Angus Morrogh-Ryan (Design Director),
Raquel Borges (Project Architect)

Architect of record:
Angus Morrogh-Ryan (Design Director),
Raquel Borges (Project Architect)

Engineers:
Price & Myers LLP (structural engineer)

Consultant(s):
Landscape:
Worsley Designs

Lighting:
Bega (wall lights),
Orlight (ceiling lights),
Bocci (pendant lights)

Acoustical:
Sonos, fitted by TMK (audio-visual)

Other:
Wetherby Building Systems Limited (external render)
Marstan DBD (quantity surveyor)

General contractor:
Noga Building Services Ltd

Photographer(s):
Hufton+Crow,
07881 586 726

Products

Structural system
Noga Building Services (concrete works)

Exterior cladding
Moisture barrier:
Delta membrane

Other cladding unique to this project:
Wetherby Building Systems Limited (external render)

Roofing
Tile/shingles:
Mandarin Stone Ltd (basalt tiles)

Other:
Green Eco Roofing Ltd (green roof)

Glazing
Skylights:
Noga Building Services

Other:
IQ Glass Ltd (glazed screens)

Doors
Sliding internal doors:
Portman pocket frames

Hardware
Other special hardware:
Allgood plc (ironmongery)
AH BRASS (ironmongery)
BANHAM LOCKS

Interior finishes
Paints and stains:
DULUX paint

Special surfacing:
Lowinfo Design (bathroom concrete vanity tops)
NBS Joinery Ltd (joinery, including Corian tops)

Floor and wall tile:
Mandarin Stone Ltd (basalt tiles) to internal and external cladding including fireplace.

Carpet:
Bremworth Carpets Ltd

Special interior finishes unique to this project:
DRU Milo fireplace (fireplace)

Furnishings
Upholstery:
Carpet Rack Ltd (carpets)

Bed side tables:
NBS Joinery Ltd with Parapan fronts

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting:
Bega (wall lights)
Orlight (ceiling lights)

Downlights:
Bocci (pendant lights)

Exterior:
Bega (wall lights)

Other unique products that contribute to sustainability:
- Heavily insulated timber frame construction to upper levels
- Heavily insulated green roof
- LED lighting throughout
- Significant re-planting of upper garden
- Use of natural daylight and ventilation throughout.

KEYWORDS: London