On the land of Ben and Maggie’s current property sat a dilapidated barn, which was being used as a garage. A little separated from this barn sat an old garden pergola structure, with distinctive brick pillars, that used to house a road side devotional statue of St. Francis of Assisi. The barn and garden structure sat within the curtilage of our client’s current house, a Grade 2 listed building, and were also within a Conservation Area. Ben and Maggie had tried to get permission for a new dwelling before and had been unsuccessful.

At their first meeting with lapd Architects they invited Opinder to see the property alongside a conservation officer. Opinder designed the beginnings of what would become the main design vision for the project there and then. From that point onwards lapd Architects, after being appointed, worked closely with the clients to create a beautiful modern home that would not only be useful to them in the immediate but would also function as a retirement home in the future. The pillars which formed the pergola feature have been reimagined with large glazed panels that don’t compromise the structural integrity of the listed features.

The flow between this aspect of the design and the existing barn, which has been sympathetically restored and incorporated with the rest of the building, was created via the introduction of a completely new barn and architectural link. lapd Architects conceived of this section to create something in keeping with the character of the whole build whilst also providing much needed space so that the property could function for Ben and Maggie’s needs, both now and in the future. lapd Architects worked with Ben and Maggie throughout the whole process, fighting for planning approval against local opposition and coordinating structural engineers and contractors throughout the build.