Beckett House
An architectural precedent for contemporary residential extensions, illustrating how a glazed ground floor and timber upper volume contrast effectively with a traditional brick home.
- What we like about this project
- The upper timber bedroom volume cantilevers or aligns seamlessly over the edge of the lower transparent floor frame.
Materials
- glass
- timber
- brick
- concrete
- steel
Visual identifiers
- timber-clad-extension
- glazed-ground-floor
- dusk-lighting
- architectural-contrast
- rear-extension
Style tags
- contemporary
- modern-addition
- residential
Visual tags
- residential-extension
- contemporary-addition
- indoor-outdoor-connection
- twilight-photography
- mixed-materials
- Geometry
- Asymmetrical composition attaching a long horizontal glazed ground-floor volume and a vertical timber-clad upper box to the rear of a traditional brick gable house.
- Facade system
- Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass panels on the ground floor with flush head and sill details; vertical timber rainscreen cladding on the upper box.
- Structural guess
- Steel moment frames supporting the large glazed openings at the ground level with timber-frame construction above.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story domestic scale, balancing the original pitched roof cottage with clean modern additions.
- Lighting
- Dusk or twilight conditions; warm interior artificial lighting floods outward, contrasting sharply against the cool blue evening sky.
- Atmosphere
- Inviting and luminous, emphasizing the glowing threshold between interior living spaces and the dark garden.
- Environmental context
- Suburban backyard setting with mature lawn, boundary walls, and adjacent residential properties.
- Spatial experience
- A clear contrast between the dark, heavy traditional brick rear and the glowing, open-plan transparent interior spaces projecting onto the rear patio.
- Composition rhythm
- Horizontal expanse of floor-to-ceiling glass balanced by the vertical rhythm of timber boarding on the second floor.
- Style reading
- Contemporary residential addition against traditional fabric
- Program
- Single-family residential rear extension
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- glass, timber, brick, concrete, steel
- Visual identifiers
- timber-clad-extension, glazed-ground-floor, dusk-lighting, architectural-contrast, rear-extension
- Style tags
- contemporary, modern-addition, residential
- Visual tags
- residential-extension, contemporary-addition, indoor-outdoor-connection, twilight-photography, mixed-materials
- Geometry
- Asymmetrical composition attaching a long horizontal glazed ground-floor volume and a vertical timber-clad upper box to the rear of a traditional brick gable house.
- Facade system
- Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass panels on the ground floor with flush head and sill details; vertical timber rainscreen cladding on the upper box.
- Structural guess
- Steel moment frames supporting the large glazed openings at the ground level with timber-frame construction above.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story domestic scale, balancing the original pitched roof cottage with clean modern additions.
- Lighting
- Dusk or twilight conditions; warm interior artificial lighting floods outward, contrasting sharply against the cool blue evening sky.
- Atmosphere
- Inviting and luminous, emphasizing the glowing threshold between interior living spaces and the dark garden.
- Environmental context
- Suburban backyard setting with mature lawn, boundary walls, and adjacent residential properties.
- Spatial experience
- A clear contrast between the dark, heavy traditional brick rear and the glowing, open-plan transparent interior spaces projecting onto the rear patio.
- Composition rhythm
- Horizontal expanse of floor-to-ceiling glass balanced by the vertical rhythm of timber boarding on the second floor.
- Style reading
- Contemporary residential addition against traditional fabric
- Program
- Single-family residential rear extension
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture