Working as architects in Fulham our fourth basement project in a portfolio of fifteen Fulham basements was again in Ellerby street and once more through Client recommendation. Natural light enters the heart of the basement and is one of the projects great successes. This part of the home at both basement and ground floor levels is the core of the project, with a great sense of volume and verticality. To achieve this the integration of layout, views, access and natural light have been carefully considered from the outset.
Regarding layout at Ground Floor, there is no secondary link between front reception room and kitchen beyond but rather at this level, a separate study gives onto the stair void while at basement level a wine store gives onto the stair.
The impact of this arrangement is many-fold. Firstly, the study is located as a quiet place to work and is accessed off the entrance hallway it then offers a view through an internal screen over the stair void towards the kitchen and garden beyond. Located in the middle of the property it is an excellent place to sit and work. The glass screen is allied to the window onto the wine store to help articulate the stairwell wall, providing an excellent composition when walking up the stairs at basement level and looking up towards the roof light over the stair. The roof light itself services to flood the space at all levels with daylight and offer valuable views of the sky beyond.
The stair that sits centrally in this composition of elements is key to the openness of the project. The carefully considered balance of elements allows a flow throughout the floor plan. The stair, which has its interest in its three-dimensional form, is itself formed of a limited palette of timber and glass. Being a wood stair, much was built on site by the Contractor’s joiners.
As with most of the Fulham basement projects, the access between kitchen and basement is critical, and here the stair gives directly onto the kitchen and is accessible as soon as one enters the space. In other of our basement extensions, we have linked the stair directly from the kitchen to the basement but located the stair more towards the garden. In both instances, the stair works well as it is linked with views and sources of natural light.
In addition to this work at basement and ground floor level, this project followed the model of most of our Fulham basement projects with a complete internal refurbishment and addition of a pod room and loft conversion. Other basement extensions in our portfolio have been smaller, some being located below a flat rather than a whole house and some not incorporating this range of extensions. Likewise, we are often undertaking simple extensions both at ground floor and upper floor levels without the inclusion of a basement extension. In the same way, as we have put together a brochure of Fifteen Fulham Basement Extensions that we have recently undertaken we will also put together a similar document for other types of development typical to our work in Fulham.