How we made No Ordinary House
A residential rear extension precedent by Mulroy demonstrating how to merge light brick masonry and expansive floor-to-ceiling sliding glass with a contrasting dark upper dormer.
- What we like about this project
- The upper dormer's dark shingle or panel cladding creates a sharp tonal contrast against the white and light brick lower levels.
Materials
- glass
- brick
- metal
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- sliding-glass-doors
- light-brickwork
- zinc-dormer
- rear-extension
Style tags
- contemporary
- modern-extension
- suburban-residential
Visual tags
- residential
- extension
- indoor-outdoor
- contemporary
- suburban
- glazing
- Geometry
- Asymmetric multi-volume rear extension featuring a ground-floor glazed pavilion with deep lintel and an offset upper-floor dark metal-clad dormer set back from the original hip roof.
- Facade system
- Large-format sliding glass door assemblies combined with light-colored brick veneer and dark metal standing-seam cladding on the upper volume.
- Structural guess
- Steel moment frames supporting the ground floor openings with timber or steel framing above.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story residential scale, proportioned for a family home opening directly onto a private garden patio.
- Lighting
- Bright midday daylight with clear blue skies and soft cumulus clouds, casting gentle directional shadows across the terrace and garden landscaping.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, open, and airy, blending domestic comfort with clean modern architectural lines.
- Environmental context
- Suburban backyard setting with mature trees framing the view and adjacent residential rooftops visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The deep ground-floor glazing blurs the boundary between the interior living space and the paved terrace, framing garden views through expansive openings.
- Composition rhythm
- Vertical glazed bays on the ground floor balanced by the central grouping of windows on the upper zinc dormer.
- Style reading
- Contemporary residential vernacular
- Program
- Single-family residential living space extension
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- glass, brick, metal, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- sliding-glass-doors, light-brickwork, zinc-dormer, rear-extension
- Style tags
- contemporary, modern-extension, suburban-residential
- Visual tags
- residential, extension, indoor-outdoor, contemporary, suburban, glazing
- Geometry
- Asymmetric multi-volume rear extension featuring a ground-floor glazed pavilion with deep lintel and an offset upper-floor dark metal-clad dormer set back from the original hip roof.
- Facade system
- Large-format sliding glass door assemblies combined with light-colored brick veneer and dark metal standing-seam cladding on the upper volume.
- Structural guess
- Steel moment frames supporting the ground floor openings with timber or steel framing above.
- Spatial scale
- Two-story residential scale, proportioned for a family home opening directly onto a private garden patio.
- Lighting
- Bright midday daylight with clear blue skies and soft cumulus clouds, casting gentle directional shadows across the terrace and garden landscaping.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, open, and airy, blending domestic comfort with clean modern architectural lines.
- Environmental context
- Suburban backyard setting with mature trees framing the view and adjacent residential rooftops visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The deep ground-floor glazing blurs the boundary between the interior living space and the paved terrace, framing garden views through expansive openings.
- Composition rhythm
- Vertical glazed bays on the ground floor balanced by the central grouping of windows on the upper zinc dormer.
- Style reading
- Contemporary residential vernacular
- Program
- Single-family residential living space extension
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture