Architecture studio Bradley Van Der Straeten has extended a house on a housing estate in Stoke Newington, London, by adding an additional half storey hidden from the street.
Called Two and a Half Storey House, the extension sits no higher than the original building's roofline.
This circumnavigates a local planning restriction that prevents the construction of a single-storey extension.

Using the ceiling of the existing first floor bedroom as a platform, a new bedroom sits within a bright, plywood-lined interior.
The room has built-in wardrobes, bookshelves and a bed frame to maximise the available space.

"We approached the design as an interlocking jigsaw," said Bradley Van Der Straeten.
"We knew the half-height of the loft was fixed so the design was all about creating two interlocking floor levels in the space of one and a half floors," added the studio. "Integrating the bed frame into the fabric of the design allowed space to be freed up for other things such as the communal circulation spaces."

A small plywood staircase continues the existing stair up to the new storey.
A central void and large interior windows create a visual connection between the first floor and the new extension, allowing the parents to supervise their children.

Two skylights in this new storey, one above the staircase void and the other above the new bed, flood the interior with light.
Another window looks west out towards the garden and surrounding roofscape.

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