WHAT architecture - London

Iceberg House

ProgramHOUSING
subterranean modern extension below existing traditional house
Scale600 sqm
LocationRichmond, UK
StageDesign
ClientHouse of Mann
Budget€ 1500000
Design Year2015

Due to heritage constraints, such as a Listed Building in a Conservation Area, the potential to extend a house and build above ground has been severly restricted in Central London. This has resulted in the phenomena of the 'iceberg house': a subterranean extension below a traditional single family dwelling. Yet often these subterranean extensions are missed opportunities and are partitioned into a plethora of underground corridors and ancillary spaces. Yet it doesn't have to be this way!

This project sought to enhance the 'iceberg house' phenomena by keeping the new build as a single subterranean volume without interior walls. A reconfigurable modern underground extension beneath a multiple roomed traditional house. The modern iceberg would contain 8 functions: 2 bedrooms, a patio garden, a dining room, a jacuzzi, a cinema, a bathroom-wc and the staircase connecting the underworld to life above ground. 

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