Erica Street, Windsor is an alterations and additions project on a small site within a densely urbanised context. Our clients brief was to keep the original front period styled section of the house and restore it to its former glory, whilst removing the old extension and proposing a new double storey addition. This double storey addition is highly contrasting to the original front section. A contemporary response is provided in the proposed facades and forms. Pitch roofs which are representational of the existing context are steel clad with ribs which run down wall facades seamlessly to create and identify forms at their purest. Fenestration is used to wrap down planes and puncture the geometry of the proposed forms. As space is limited, a centralised courtyard becomes an active space which links all the internal living zones together also allowing for the provision of natural light to these habitable spaces. The use of a long void space in parallel to the first floor circulation corridor allows for a play of increased internal heights which assists in merging space and promoting a sense of openness within an otherwise tight and constrained existence. Erica Street is a fine example of what is achievable on a small site and establishes a quality of space not normally afforded within this context.
