Situated on a dense urban site with neighbouring buildings in close proximity, any proposed extension would be overlooked from multiple sides – a typical London situation. At the same time, driven by a desire to maximise natural daylight provision and celebrate key views across adjacent gardens,
Mata Architects wanted the new space to benefit from large windows.
The result is a small and seemingly simple first floor extension conceived as a ‘reconfigurable box’ in dark stained Siberian Larch. Two bespoke counterbalanced shutters are manually operated internally using winches, allowing for multiple configurations; from fully open with window overhang to counter summer solar gain, to shut tight.
The dynamic nature of the façade encourages the user to interact physically with the architecture and adapt their environment for comfort.