Home Extension in Lake District

Damson Fell in Kendal, Cumbria is a 1903 Edwardian vicarage that enjoys mature landscaped gardens set in rolling countryside.

The brief from the clients was clear – a modern living and garden space that made the most of the outdoor space to enhance the internal space via large, uninterrupted glazed views. On top of this brief, a challenge that the corner needed to be ‘structure free’ with a glass to glass junction replacing where a corner post would usually be.

Crosby-Granger Architects engaged with The Lake District National Park authorities, who are keen to drive up standards in design and have subsequently highlighted Damson Fell as an exemplar of quality design whilst sitting in a traditional setting. Planning was granted with no conditions.

The open corner required complex geometry between the Carpenter Oak frame designers and the structural engineer. At ceiling level, steel I-beams were used to create the cantilevered corner that negated the need for a supporting corner post.

Other steelwork included laser-cut flitch plates with counter-sunk pignuts on threaded bar on the ground floor. Upstairs used steel tie-rod assembly with a three-directional tapped disk. This all allows for a minimalist frame without the need for timber bracing, creating open spaces that support the contemporary brief, enhanced by the use of mixed material.

Crosby-Granger designed Damson Fell with its existing context and situation in mind. The extension sits sympathetically beneath the existing projecting verge and is proportional to the form of the North gable of the house. The use of other materials such as cut face stonework are sympathetic to the vicarage whilst being aesthetically different to make the distinction between old and new.

The end result is a seamless, minimalist opening that gave the clients exactly what they asked for. Home Extension in Lake District

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