Power House

Paul Archer Design refurbished a private house in Highbury, north London, whose scheme was inspired by its owners’ love of the outdoors and taste for Nordic design. The project’s most striking feature is a highly sculptural extension, clad on the exterior with a skin of Douglas fir battens, which extends partially over the glazing, patterning the light and providing shading. The same timber is used inside in the wall cladding. A new ground floor level has been created beneath the original house, which contains a spacious kitchen diner, and features glazed folding doors onto a garden deck.

Photography: Andy Stagg