An extension entirely clad in rust-coloured Corten steel has been added to a 1950s terraced house in south London by architecture practice Studio on the Rye.
Named Rusty House on the Rye after its reddish-brown exterior, the project added a side extension to the modest end-of-terrace house, creating a new landmark on the corner of Peckham’s Bellenden Road.
Built for a client who has lived in Peckham for 14 years, the two-storey extension nearly doubled the size of the existing house adding a kitchen, snug and utility room on the ground floor. Upstairs is an additional bedroom with an ensuite shower room and walk-in wardrobe.
The house’s prominent location, and its visibility from the nearby railway line, meant the studio considered how the building looked from many angles as well restrictions from the Holly Grove Conservation Area.
Peckham-based Studio on the Rye designed the 40-square-metre side extension to continue the form of the existing redbrick terrace but have a “modern idiom” with a gutterless pitched roof and its Corten steel casing wrapped around its walls and roof.
The steel’s patina usually develops a rusty, brown colour over time, but on Rusty House this was accelerated to create the weathered look upon installation, blending in with both the brick in the existing structure and the conservation area, which characterised by Georgian and early Victorian suburban villas.
“The tone of the weathered Corten was carefully selected to fit with the red bricks of the original house,” said Studio on the Rye director Sarah Borowiecka.
“It was then sealed so that it would not weather further,” she continued. “Additionally, the rusting process can cause rainwater runoff to stain surrounding finishes which we wanted to avoid.”
Working with Corten for the first time, Borowiecka spent “considerable time” collaborating with metal suppliers and the contractor to develop a fixing method for the steel panels to create a “seamless, sleek look”.
The design includes shadow gaps between the original house and the extension, marking out the boundary between old and new, and working to conserve the appearance of the terrace within the streetscene and conservation area.
“The scale and form of the extension matches that of the host building, but the interpretation is modern, simple and monolithic, with shadow gaps in both the walls and roof helped delineate the extension from the original house,” said Borowiecka.
“The elevations on the two streets follow the angle of the roads, so passers by are never looking at the side of the development, always at the front.”
The monolithic appearance of the extension was accentuated by the addition of glazed corner windows, which were made bespoke by Fluid Glass, designed to let more light into the main bedroom, as well as offering angled views along Bellenden Road.
With no off-the-shelf shutters available, studio on the rye designed bespoke sliding MDF shutters that could be concealed in the walls.
The architect also added sliding doors onto the garden and added in large windows to create a allow the outdoor space to feel like an extension of the house.
Inside, the studio introduced new windows and doors, a revamped stairwell, and a new floating staircase.
The kitchen was designed by Studio on the Rye and crafted from ash, with bespoke joinery while the floors were finished with polished concrete tiles in the kitchen and dining space, and oak parquet throughout the rest of the house.
Roof lights over the stairwell, main bedroom and ensuite shower room, and large windows bring more daylight into the house.
Other additions to the home include insulation improvements, triple-glazed windows, and an energy-efficient bioethanol stove to enhance the home’s sustainability and resolve its damp and ventilation issues.
Studio on the Rye was founded by Borowiecka, a fourth-generation architect, in 2016.
Other extensions recently completed in London include a terraced house revamped with Mediterranean textures and a lime plaster finish, and a terracotta-coloured concrete extension that celebrates the home’s existing qualities.
The photography is by French + Tye.
