De Beauvoir House

London-based Cousins & Cousins Architects designed a single family house’s extension in London, a lightweight structural timber insertion that harmonised the layout of the internal spaces.

The de Beauvoir House project contains a unique rear extension to a semi-detached family home in Hackney, London. The client brief was to remodel and extend the property, creating a two story extension that harmonised the layout of the internal spaces, making them work for their growing family’s needs.

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, London, 2017

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, London, 2017

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, London, 2017

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, siteplan

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, ground floor

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, first floor

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, section

006_DBH RIBA awards.indd

Cousins & Cousins Architects, De Beauvoir House, section

The rear extension, a lightweight structural glulam timber insertion, frames a series of newly created modern spaces connected via a bespoke steel staircase. The staircase forms the new heart of the house, a meticulously detailed and sculptural point of access that defines the spaces it connects.

At the first floor, the new study/bedroom overlooks the garden via operable timber clad shutters, which visually blend with the timber structure of the extension. The lightweight appearance is further emphasised by the minimally framed glass enclosed void, which also gives height to the open plan kitchen/dining space below. The project is a culmination of considered detailing paired with an honest approach to materiality and structure, resulting in a contemporary aesthetic that compliments the traditional terraced houses from which it extends.

De Beauvoir House, London
Architect: Cousins & Cousins Architects
Program: single family house extension
Structural engineer: Webb Yates
Cost consultant: BHA
Environmental consultant: Enhabit
Contractor: Not Disclosed
Completion: 2017

De Beauvoir House

London-based Cousins & Cousins Architects designed a single family house’s extension in London, a lightweight structural timber insertion that harmonised the layout of the internal spaces.

006_DBH RIBA awards.indd

Latest on Architecture

Latest on Domus