ABBEY ROAD

This project extends and reconfigures a substantial Victorian hillside house in Malvern.

The existing dwelling is arranged across five split levels connected by a central staircase, a configuration typical of the steeply sloping sites that rise from the town towards the Malvern Hills.

The original house is characterised by red brickwork with stone detailing beneath a plain tiled pitched roof, with decorative bargeboards and strong vertical proportions. The surrounding context is defined by a dense arrangement of large Victorian houses set against the rising landscape.

The extension addresses a previously dark and fragmented part of the plan. By lowering the floor level of the new addition, the principal living spaces are aligned across a single level, creating a clear spatial transition from the historic house into a new kitchen and dining area. A small intermediary lobby marks this threshold between old and new.

The architectural language of the extension draws from the Victorian bay window to the front living room, where tall, slender stone mullions frame recessed sash windows. This motif is reinterpreted in the new façade as a series of vertical concrete mullions, taller and more closely spaced, with frameless glazing set behind and rising to almost four metres in height. The glazing aligns with the existing stone string courses, allowing the extension to sit comfortably alongside the original building while maintaining a contemporary expression.

To the rear, large sliding doors open onto a sunken courtyard that draws morning light deep into the kitchen and establishes visual connections through the house to the street frontage. At the junction between the parapet and pitched roof, a frameless rooflight cuts across the transition, introducing additional daylight and reinforcing the dialogue between the Victorian structure and the new intervention.