The house is an end terrace. ‘It had a side passage with a tricky tapering shape and a one-metre drop in height across its length, no direct garden access and a mainly blank gable wall,’ says Nick.
The owners wanted a new extension to make more of a connection between the property and its surroundings: a garden at the back and the canal, which is a Scheduled Monument. The work required a sympathetic approach and the approval of Historic and Environment Scotland.
The extension attaches to the property’s gable end, which was opened up in two places to provide direct access to the living areas at the front of the house and the kitchen at the back.
The garden room is unobtrusive, nestling behind the canal’s boundary wall without physically touching it. Glazed gable ends track the morning and afternoon sun and lead the eye into the garden and along the canal banks.
‘The canal wall is celebrated as a beautiful object and the generator of the garden room’s eight-metre, column-free panoramic window,’ explains Nick.
For Franck, Sharon and the family, the new addition functions as a hide on a beautiful stretch of water, providing views of nature and the changing seasons without impacting the landscape.