Issue 47 JUNE - Flipbook - Page 71
copper-clad extension’s internally expressed geometries
create a truly unique dining/entertaining space. With
glazing at each end, the space is at one with the garden.
The attic is opened up with two new bedrooms and a large
family study and entertainment room. This room is
wrapped in a skin of ribbed sapele wood, whilst soft
furnishings chosen by the client add an air of indulgent
luxury.
Carefully selected light fixtures and walnut furniture
compliment the weathering copper, giving a warmth to
the light which floods in. Banquette seating is integrated
into the stepped level change with integrated shelving
and softened by textiles that juxtapose the contemporary
form with retro details. A contrasting dark blue tiled wall
creates a sense of solidity to the fireplace and bookends
the space. On the opposite side, the kitchen carries
through the tile format in a pale pink. A large rooflight
draws natural light over the kitchen work space.
“We worked in close collaboration with CE+CA and
with such a wealth of craftspeople, it really was a huge
team effort. Everyone enjoyed working on the project
because it was felt early on that this house and its
transformation was something quite special.”
Client 2024
Conservation
Petronella House is both a conservation project and a
piece of radical rethinking of the Victorian home to suit
contemporary living. The house sits as part of Sheffield’s
westward expansion by the middle and uppers management classes from the expanding steel works. The original
house and gardens occupied the majority of the upper
reaches of the road. Over time the garden had been portioned off and developed into ever smaller residential
units.
At first floor, the removal of the attic stair and former
escape stair have made way to two new en-suite spaces
and an enlarged principal bedroom with adjoining
bathroom. A new timber lined ‘lozenge’ forms wardrobe
space and becomes a space divider between bedroom and
bathroom.
The attic had previously been servants’ quarters and was
in a significant state of disrepair. Access was via a small,
steep narrow stair or a vertical escape ladder. We removed
an en-suite bathroom and opened up the house with a
new overtly contemporary stair that appears to hover in
space. A large rooflight drops light deep into the heart of
the house. The stair is of similar proportion to the main
house stair and it’s material quality is derived from the
metalwork of the original handrails.
The last key intervention at Petronella House was in the
late 1970’s where stained glass windows were removed
and replaced with less sympathetic fenestration of a pattern that suited the ideals of the time. The top floor had
been written off, no longer used for service staff, it had become a play and storage space. At some point the house
had been subdivided and a vertical steel ‘escape’ stair
forced vertically through the middle of the house.
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