Type: Residential
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Client: Private
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Location: Epsom, Surrey
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Status: Start on Site Autumn ‘22

Triangle House

A new wing to a 1950’s detached house on a triangular site in Surrey.

Triangle House is a detached house at the end of a leafy cul-de-sac overlooking Roseberry Park in Epsom, developed by Ideal Homes in the 1950’s. When we first visited the site on a spring day, we sat outside at the back of the garden, discussing the project in the late afternoon sun. Rather than design the north facing rear extension that the client originally had in mind, our proposal creates a new wing to the house that chases the afternoon sun.

By removing a poorly constructed extension, our proposal reproportions the garden and improves the quality of rooms in the existing house, restoring it to its original character.

The project has a dramatic series of flowing interior spaces. A canopy supported on a triangular column marks the new entrance to the house, and references this motif in the surrounding post-war houses. From the low canopy, you enter a dramatic double height space where old and new collide under an open mezzanine and family bathroom. Passing through the hall, you emerge into an enfilade of interlinked new living spaces which frame panoramic views towards the garden. The extension has no internal doors, as the kitchen flows through a pair of openings into dining room and snug. A careful balance of openness and enclosure results in dramatic linear views across the entirety of the extension.

The project expresses its elemental construction. With budget and carbon in mind, walls are constructed from exposed fairfaced blockwork with insulation and render to the outside, reducing the cost and volume of material required in construction. From the canopy through to the triangular blockwork piers, a triangular motif infuses the detailing, picking up on the shape of the site, the arrowhead tiles and mid-century triangular wallpaper of the original house. Externally, terracotta toned tiles are paired with blue blocks, a striking colour combination which references the tones of the existing house and the client’s heritage,inspired by a vernacular building in the book ‘Caribbean Style’.

Team:
Engineer - Simple Works