Work is progressing well on our scheme in Prince of Wales Drive, nestled in one of Battersea’s conservation areas.

The house is on a corner plot and is part of a pair of semi-detached, three storey, double fronted Victorian houses. Our client wants to remodel the entire house and open up the basement to create extra living space.

We have provided a number of design solutions and ended up with a scheme that’s by no means typical and with some interesting design challenges. In particular the basement has required some creative thinking, not least to appease the local planning authority.

Complex engineering solutions have been used to overcome some of the challenges, such as to protect the existing structure of the house – and neighbouring properties – while the basement was excavated beneath. The ground conditions encountered on site have been vastly different to those anticipated and made the piling, which was already difficult on a tight site, another real challenge.

The design solution has introduced light wells to the front and a large basement courtyard at the rear. In addition a kitchen / dining space will open onto a private basement courtyard, creating a contemporary light-filled space. Bridges will be used to connect the ground floor above to an area of garden at the rear of the plot, which will overlook the basement courtyard. In the front of the basement there will be a cinema room, playroom and library, with utility spaces in the centre of the basement.

We will keep you updated as this interesting but challenging basement, and whole house redevelopment progresses.