Bayford Green, Hertfordshire

A comprehensive refurbishment and extension of a 1950s detached house located within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

The design rationalises a series of piecemeal rear additions into a single, coherent single-storey form. This new intervention steps down from the main body of the house into the garden, culminating in an open-sided covered veranda that mediates between interior, garden and open landscape beyond.

The existing building will be significantly thermally upgraded, including new external insulation, triple-glazed timber windows, clay roof tiles and a lime-based render finish. A continuous limestone floor extends from the interior into the garden to form a series of external seating terraces, defined by planting and low stone walls and benches. This stone surface wraps up to create a durable plinth to the external walls and rises to form a structural stone column supporting the over-sailing roof.

The proposal takes advantage of permitted development rights to deliver a single-storey side extension — an intervention that would otherwise be challenging to achieve within the Green Belt context.

The project is currently at planning stage, with construction anticipated to commence in late 2026.