We are pleased to announce that we have recently obtained planning permission in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The Opportunity and client brief

Our client owns an apartment over two floors in a historic block, in Cadogan Gardens, located within the Hans Town Conservation area of the borough. At upper ground level an existing terrace, on top of a lower floor bedroom, gave the opportunity to enclose the area, and increase the internal floor area of the property. The terrace is surrounded on three sides by flank walls, five storeys high and with a single outlook across communal gardens. Our client wants a new space for study, accessible from the dining area – and their brief was to design a minimal and modern stucture that complimented the surrounding buildings.

The conservation area is a densely built up area of terraces, characterised by one principal material such as painted stucco or stock brick or red brick and terracotta. The rear of these properties, as is the case at our site, are much plainer more utilitarian than the highly decorated exterior frontages. The character of Cadogan Gardens is defined by short stretches of individually distinctive terraces which frame mature gardens. It is across one of these mature gardens that our proposal looks out across.

The Solution

The proposal is for a predominantly glazed extension, using a structural glass system to create a transparency to the structure, and allow light to penetrate into the middle of the apartment. In the proposals the extension is to be set –back to reduce its dominance. Hidden from the street we believe this will have a positive effect on the appearance of the structure from neighbouring properties. To an observer one can visually read the existing facade of the block, thereby clearly distinguishing new from old. The proposed glazed extension will have a steel coloured frame to maintain a theme of visual simplicity. The proposed scheme has been carefully considered to ensure that the integrity and character of the existing building and conservation area is preserved. Concealed gutters will be used where possible to limit the amount of clutter to the external facade. We will be likely using Cantafix who we have worked with in previous proejcts, that require stuctural glass. God is in the detail as they say, and in this case it matters more than most.

If you are interested in securing planning permission in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, please find our contact details here.