This mid-Victorian end-of-terrace house is typical of the Jericho area of Oxford.
The property had undergone only minor alterations to its original layout when we were asked to extend and reconfigure the lower and upper ground floors.
This was achieved by creating a sunken terrace at the rear, allowing both floors to open out onto the enclosed garden.
Conceived as a group of overlapping simple brick boxes, the additions provide a study with a balcony on the upper ground floor and an extended kitchen and dining area at lower-level. The two are linked by a partial glass floor that brings a wash of light to a seating area that looks over the lower terrace.
The project involved the general refurbishment of the whole property, including new bathrooms, kitchen and utility areas.
Most of the internal walls are lined with bespoke, full-height book cases to accommodate our client's extensive collection of fine art books.
As the name suggests, The Byre began life as a cow shed, part of retired farm in Oxfordshire. DuCroz architects obtained planning and listed building consent for the conversion and extension of the original byre into a three bedroom home.
We were delighted to have won the opportunity to design Warwick Business School’s second premises on level 13 of The Shard and the works are now complete.
The brief was to create a 64 seat lecture theatre, 8 meeting rooms, an office, reception and plenty of break-out space. The school wanted the design to relate to their previous phase of design on level 17 but also to have its own identity.
Following the success of level 13 we were asked by the school to undertake work on level 17 to make further design enhancements. This is now concluded and we are continuing to work with the business school on their Warwick campus.
Photography by Quintin Lake
Our client’s spacious house was compromised by a constrained and uninspiring kitchen dining area that was the product of a series of ad hoc and ill considered extensions.
Low ceiling heights and awkward angles required a reworking of the stair, landing and first floor bathroom in order to meet the brief for a unified kitchen-dining-living space.
A desire to connect the main house to a small cottage in the garden presented an opportunity to reorientate the extension at 10 degrees to the main house, opening up the space to make best use of the site and creating a purposeful connection to the cottage.
The link building also overlooks and provides access to an enclosed courtyard that will be used for outside dining.
Conservation and listed building considerations made an attached extension to this Grade II listed cottage problematic. After exploring a number of options we designed a simple, new, barn style building and connected to the existing cottage with a glazed link.
This approach preserved the integrity of the cottage whilst meeting our clients brief for an additional bed room and a large contemporary kitchen-dining-living space.
We gained Planning and Listed Building Consent in February 2018, construction is now well under way on site.
This upper ground floor apartment within a converted Georgian terrace had not been updated since the late 1980s.
Our clients wanted to open up the internal spaces to create an expansive open-plan living area with two separate bedrooms.
This required extensive structural work and complicated negotiations with the other leaseholders and the freehold management company.
We took a measured but determined approach and gained support from all parties. The project is now successfully completed - photos to follow.
We were asked to find a site for the building of a new home for our clients in the the Witney area. After reviewing a number of options we found a small cottage with a large garden plot, tucked away down a private lane.
The cottage is locally listed; however we achieved planning permission for a substantial contemporary extension.
The house includes a galleried open-plan living space, a study, sitting room, four bedrooms, and a billiard room.
Building elements have been designed to Passivhaus standards and the scheme incorporates rainwater harvesting and air-source heat pump technology.
The project is on-site and due for completion in October 2017.
Formerly a branch of Lloyds Bank, this building had undergone several poorly executed refurbishments that failed to address some fundamental compromises to the internal layout.
The interior was stripped out back to the masonry before the internal spaces were reconfigured. A new floor structure was introduced that allowed for the proper conversion of the expansive attic spaces.
Our clients acquired this building as a long term investment and were keen to undertake a refurbishment that would minimise future maintenance and maximise flexibility.
Roofs and windows were replaced and internal spaces opened up to provide flexible open-plan areas.
The original vaults of the bank have been converted into a meeting space and print room with the characterful vault doors retained as historic architectural features.
Mechanical and electrical services are exposed internally and have been carefully coordinated to achieve a simple, industrial aesthetic, whilst allowing for future addition and upgrading.
The building was let on a long lease before the project was completed.
The layout of this classic London mews house was poorly planned and in need of updating.
The internal structure and floors were completely replaced and reconfigured to take best advantage of the single aspect. This created light, open plan spaces that make this compact three-bedroom dwelling feel expansive and luxurious.
Bespoke joinery elements provide storage and and are used to zone and screen multifunctional open plan spaces, The clients' strong interior styling brings a unique character and feel to this family home.
DuCroz architects has recently been commissioned to undertake the design on another mews house refurbishment for the same client.
What was originally a derelict, local council public toilet and electrical substation block was converted by Jon into a three bedroom house. Windy Corner is now a warm, characterful, contemporary family home.
Before work began, a new electrical substation had to be commissioned in the corner of the plot and shrouded with a thick masonry wall. This left enough space for two courtyard gardens and screened the substation from view.
By extending the central section of the original building, the first floor provides three bedrooms within the roof space with sloping ceilings and exposed structural timbers.
The ground floor consists of two living spaces, an open plan kitchen, living, and dining area, and a separate formal sitting room.
The design retains key features of the original building. The stone mullioned windows of the old toilets now bring light into the entrance hall and open plan kitchen. The Cotswold stone external wall of the original substation remains exposed within the sitting room and shows off the carved stone lettering above the former main entrance.
A wood-burning stove, heat-exchange ventilation and under-floor heating establish an eco-friendly, comfortable internal environment. Cotswold stone, slates, and structural oak beams were sourced from the local area and combine with sweet-chestnut cladding to give a contemporary twist on the local vernacular.
Photography by John Lawrence: www.johnlawrence.org.uk
The demolition of a small bungalow on a long, south facing, sloping plot provided a spectacular site for a new-build five bedroom home.
Our client was keen to avoid the clichéd appearance of a new, "traditional" style cottage but wanted a building that did not jar with the grain of the village.
The design merges aspects of traditional cotswold construction, carefully selected materials and agricultural building forms to establish a contemporary scheme that remains comfortably grounded within its rural village context.
Here we showcase a selection of early stage designs that, to date, have remained on the drawings board. Some may yet make it to construction but for now we present them to show a broader range of the projects we have worked on.
