Dominic McKenzie Architects enlivens Segmental House with arched details

Local studio Dominic McKenzie Architects has extended a Victorian home in south London, uniting old and new with arched motifs that appear as decorative brickwork, openings and even a small cat door.

Named Segmental House, the Grade II-listed home has had its lower ground floor opened up with a bright and airy Douglas fir-lined interior that extends into a skylit garden room.

Dominic McKenzie Architects drew on the arched windows of the original home to create a recurring motif for the extension, which overlooks the garden through a large curved opening.

It is also clad in custom-made bricks featuring an arch detail.

"We were trying to design the rear extension to relate to the existing context in a subtly playful and contemporary way," founder Dominic McKenzie told Dezeen.

"The combination of brick context and arched openings led to the idea of using a bespoke brick with an arched segment pattern to give the extension a subtle richness of detail," he added.

The removal of a wall between Segmental House's original dining and living spaces on the lower ground floor has created a singular, long space that steps down into the extension and the home's long garden.

A staircase alongside the dining area leads to the upper ground floor where Dominic McKenzie Architects added a small bathroom and powder room. The changes to the upper floors were light-touch.

The client's love of Scandinavian modernism and timber panelling informed the finishes throughout the living areas, with the walls, cabinets and built-in storage areas lined in Douglas fir in two subtly different horizontal bands.

"The house's panelling is made of Douglas fir plywood arranged in two bands: a solid upper panel and a slatted dado layer," McKenzie told Dezeen.

"It is installed with incredible craft and attention to detail throughout the lower ground. Joints are perfectly chamfered. Secret doors conceal a hidden pantry and a TV cupboard," he added.

At the skirting level, a small arched opening has been provided to give the owners' cats access to their "hidden" food bowl room, which can also be accessed through a human-sized door concealed within the wooden panelling.

The bricks used to clad Segmental House's extension were designed by the studio and made by brick manufacturer WH Collier. They are laid in a flemish bond pattern to match the existing home's brickwork.

McKenzie founded his London-based studio in 2011 and its previous projects include a zigzagging extension to a home in Hampstead and a tower-like brick extension to a home in Islington.

The photography is by Will Pryce. 

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