Innovative end-of-terrace addition
How architect Victoria Emmett overcame the challenge of adding to a row of period homes
Faced with a triangular plot bordered by a railway line, Victoria devised an angular timber-frame end-of-terrace with extension that takes its cues from the row of distinctive period homes.
The 247sqm house sits on a brick plinth and its render walls complement the adjacent houses. Photo: Craig Auckland of Fotohaus
Working with the site must have posed a challenge
Yes, there’s a railway embankment along one side and a terrace of Victorian houses on the other. The railway cuts across at an angle, therefore creating an unusually shaped triangular plot.
How did the project originally come about?
I was contacted by Jeremy Greaves, who wanted to build a five-bedroom family home. It would be a new addition to the row of period houses.
The architect had to contend with a railway embankment and a terrace of Victorian houses. Photo: Craig Auckland of Fotohaus
Tell us about the design
The roof line echoes the distinctive outline of the terrace, albeit lower, as the house has three storeys and the Victorian homes have four. There is a bay window at the front, which is triangular rather than curved like those along the row, but it mirrors their proportions and scale. Above it is a roof terrace that leads off the main bedroom on the second floor. The side wall of the house runs parallel to the railway line and an angular canopied veranda at the back connects the open-plan living area to the garden. The rooms are orientated to benefit from sunlight at various times of the day.
