Fulham Basement Architects
Shape Architecture has worked on sixteen basement extensions in Fulham and over thirty such projects across London. This has been over a period of fifteen years. Our very first basement in Fulham was in Ellerby Street. Following this project through Client recommendation we then started on two basements simultaneously in Hurlingham Road and Broomhouse Road.
Fulham Basement Extensions
Our next two basement project again via client recommendation was back in Ellerby Street and this was swiftly added to when our clients neighbour commissioned us for a similar basement project. Following this we worked on basements in Stevenage Road and them Queensmill Road and to bring our series up to date we are now about to start on site on our sixteenth Fulham basement extension in St Maur Road near Parsons Green.
Basement Design
Whilst there is much in common between these basement projects and in particular the technical design there is much also to distinguish each project. We often think of the connection between basement level and the garden via lightwell and steps sets basement projects apart in much the same way as the internal stair can also do.
Basement Lightwell and steps to Garden
Our first basement extension in Ellerby Street had steps that provided access to the garden perpendicular to the lightwell, running along the side of the garden with a glass balustrade. Several other basements have a timber and glass stair in the lightwell that connects with a glass bridge over. We followed this route at a later project also in Ellerby Street and this is a very elegant solution. In Broomhouse Road a concrete stair at the edge of the lightwell provides access. In Hurlingham Road there is no such stair and at Inglethorpe Street, no lightwell. Clearly there are many approaches to connecting the basement to the garden. A key aspect for us also is the use of 3D computer models to communicate and develop the design with our clients.
Basement Feature Stair
The internal stair linking the basement to the ground floor typically follows the route of the existing stairs or is set apart as a feature stair. Our second and third basement projects are good examples. Hurlingham Road has its stair as a very distinct feature as it is set inside a glass cube extension and works very well as access between the two levels is always ‘via the garden no matter what the weather. At Broomhouse Road the stair is an extension of the existing flights. It looks very elegant as it is well detailed and the enclosed storage space below it faced in wood veneer is set in slightly from the edge of the stair. Two relatively simple design decisions but very effective.
Basement Floor Plan
The location of the look lightwells and the stair have a strong influence on the layout of the basement floor plan. We have for example added a third central lightwell to several Fulham basement projects. Typically, the middle of the floor plan is occupied by a utility room, bathroom. Possibly a gym or even a wine store. The largest space is typically to the garden side and is very often a family room, flooded with light from full width glazed doors giving onto the lightwell. The front room giving onto the street is lot and vented by a smaller lightwell and is often has access to bathroom at its side. Having worked on over 30 basement projects throughout London we have an extensive library of Basement floor plans that can help inform the design of each new basement project.
If you are considering a basement extension in Fulham or any other area and would like the benefit of working with architects very experienced in basement design, please feel free to contact us at Shape Architecture at 020 3770 6360 or london@shapearchitecture.co.uk
Click the links below to learn more about the projects mentioned above: