Local studio Oliver Leech Architects has extended a Victorian terrace house in south London, introducing a four-metre-wide skylight at its centre that offers views of a wildflower meadow roof.
Located in the Poet's Corner conservation area of Herne Hill, the studio was tasked with retaining the late 19th-century building's character while opening up its "disconnected and dark" interiors.
Prioritising natural light, Oliver Leech Architects expanded the ground floor with an open living, dining and kitchen space, which meets the existing building with a large skylight and a window seat overlooking a small courtyard.
A four-metre-wide skylight provides views of the rooftop meadow
"Natural light is the most important theme and design tool that we think about when designing our houses as a studio," founder Oliver Leech told Dezeen. "Here we used the light to draw you into the house through the darker hallway and towards a huge fixed skylight in the centre of the house."
"We saw this central skylight as the central anchor to the new house, surrounded by all the key spaces," he added.
The ground floor hosts an expanded living, dining and kitchen space
While the layout of the home's front rooms remains largely the same, they now open into the large new living area, creating an axis through to a concrete and brick patio garden accessed through full-height, sliding glass doors.
The extension itself has been sunken down by 40 centimetres to provi...