Preston Drove House, East Sussex Building Development, Southern English Architecture Photos
Preston Drove House in Brighton
15 Apr 2021
Preston Drove House
Architects: Life Size Architecture
Location: Brighton, East Sussex, Southern England, UK

Photographs: Jim Stephenson
Life Size Architecture were approached by the clients who owned the basement flat below their house and had aspirations of merging the two properties to create a home that better suited their needs.

The main challenge with the Preston Drove project was to reconnect the basement level to the main house, whilst also creating generous, well-lit spaces, despite the core of the renovation works being below the street level. These challenges were overcome by creating openings in the separating floors to allow ambient light to filter between the levels of the house. To the rear, on an intermediate floor, which was previously home to the kitchen, we created mezzanine spaces with great views out to the garden through a large, centralised picture window through the rear elevation of the house.
Being in a conservation area also came with its challenges. This allowed us to draw out the more characterful parts of the existing building, whilst also introducing a fresh dose of contemporary design into the mix that sits well in its context.

The bespoke joinery package we designed provides further connection through the spaces, with shelving units that rise up from the lower ground floor level to the levels above. K...