Pend adds curved brick extension to Victorian house in Edinburgh

Local architecture studio Pend has renovated a traditional semi-detached property in Edinburgh, Scotland, combining two existing flats to create a family home with living spaces housed in a brick-clad extension.

Catalog House was designed by Pend for the owners of local design store Catalog Interiors, who required a larger space in which to raise their young daughter.

The family had been living on the ground floor of a subdivided Victorian property and originally approached Pend to design a rear addition that would replace several poorly built existing extensions.

When the upstairs neighbour decided to sell, the owners bought the flat so they could reunite the two properties, creating room for an additional bedroom while retaining more of the garden space.

Pend was tasked with creating a cohesive scheme that creates a dialogue between the original house and the new 35-square-metre extension.

The project involved removing partitions installed when the building was subdivided and reorganising the two floors to create a series of spaces suited to modern family life.

Working closely with the clients, whose personal style leans towards Scandinavian modernism, the studio sought to retain as many of the original features as possible while giving the interior a clean, contemporary aesthetic.

"When the property was subdivided, the original proportions were lost and details such as the cornicing and staircase were ripped apart to allow for the altered layout," Pend associate Ben MacFarlane told Dezeen.

"We were left with a mismatch of the existing Victorian ornament and completely bare rooms, which made for an interesting challenge trying to balance that history with our own minimalist intervention," he added.

The reorganised layout positions all the living and social spaces on the ground floor, with the more private areas such as the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs.

The clients enjoy entertaining and were therefore keen for the kitchen to be located near the entrance, so it becomes a hub for socialising with more intimate, family-oriented spaces towards the rear.

With its east-facing bay window, the kitchen receives morning light and was the one room that retained its original proportions and features. The architects restored details such as the cornicing while introducing modern cabinetry that clearly distinguishes the new interventions.

Expanded openings provide a view from the entrance all the way through the dining room towards the rear extension and the garden beyond.

The extension contains a lounge space that opens onto a west-facing terrace, with its glazed patio doors and roof light helping to make the most of the afternoon sun.

"By shifting the way the ground floor is orientated, we were able to organise the spaces so they follow the sun and complement how the family uses them throughout the day," MacFarlane pointed out.

"They love coming downstairs in the morning and sitting at the table in the bay window with a coffee, then moving into the lounge in the evening to soak up the golden hour sunlight."

The materiality of the extension provides a contemporary counterpoint to the more traditional details found in the existing house, with exposed oak beams and bespoke joinery bringing warmth to the otherwise minimal palette.

Secret doors incorporated into the wooden panelling provide access to a utility space and a compact office, both of which are illuminated by carefully positioned skylights. Another skylight in the lounge ensures the central dining space also receives plenty of natural light.

A TV snug located off the lounge provides a private retreat within the mostly open-plan layout. This calming space is decorated in a deep-green hue, with soft furnishings and a heavy curtain forming a threshold with the main living space.

Externally, the architects opted for a light-coloured brick that complements but doesn't mimic the buff sandstone of the original facade.

The extension's rounded wall was informed by an interior wall in the original hallway and creates a softer transition between the patio and the side access. Internally, this curve helps to animate the small study area.

The clients lived on-site throughout the project, so they could help manage the build and keep an eye on some of the detailing as it developed.

"Their design background meant that they were coming up with ideas and they were very hands-on," MacFarlane said.

"That level of attention to detail meant that the finishing of this project is of the highest standard and the outcome is exactly what they wanted."

Architect Jamie Anderson founded Pend in 2021 after working for leading practices across the UK and Middle East.

The studio focuses on developing timeless residential projects informed by their context and the client's lifestyle, such as a fluted stone-clad extension to a Georgian farmhouse in East Lothian.

Also in Edinburgh, Costa Rican artist Juli Bolaños-Durman recently renovated her own flat, which she designed in collaboration with Architecture Office.

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