TABBERNER COOK HOUSE
Tabberner Cook House is a very large, split-level ground floor extension to a home in Crystal Palace, London. The existing property is on a street-facing corner plot and sits across a very steep site with long views out across the south of London.
Planning Permission for the scheme was granted in the summer of 2022, and the project began construction on site in the summer of 2023. The project was completed in December of 2024.
The stepped massing of the project, and its scope more generally, is informed by an ambitious domestic programme for a split-level, ground floor extension of this type. Internally, a new kitchen, dining space and sunken lounge are the primary living spaces of the scheme. Additionally, a series of flexible auxiliary spaces have also been built as part of the project internally, these include, an internal greenhouse and potting shed, a small bike workshop, a utility space and pantry, and a new WC. All of these spaces extend outward and downward to the terraced garden and landscaping beyond.
The exposed corner site and its heavily sloped condition, allows for the play of multiple stepped levels, both inside and out. Many of these level changes are defined by numerous planters, that similarly play a role in integrating the garden with the wider scope of the project.
Key to the project, is its direct relationship to both the existing garden beyond, and to the forming of flexible internal spaces dedicated to horticulture. The project seeks to merge and extend the practice of horticulture in and out of more typically domestic environments. Internally, the potting room has a very direct and purposeful relationship with the sunken living spaces beyond, controlling the passage of heat and air around the ground floor through a pair of bespoke oak-framed internal windows that can be set to a number of configurations. These in turn have a series of adaptable shelving areas and timber surfaces behind that can be reconfigured to the changing needs of the occupants.
In addition, very large areas of the southwest-facing façade are also openable, to allow for variations in use. This allows for the whole of the ground floor extension, depending upon its desired function, to act more broadly as a greenhouse throughout, giving the inhabitants the choice as to how much of the interior space is given over to horticulture or not.
Externally, the project also provides for a large new terrace, and a significant area of stepped landscaping that terminates with the construction of a large, street-facing, stepped boundary wall. The boundary wall is formed from an English bond of stepped white brick, with whitened timber above, that manages the steep level changes of the corner site’s street-facing boundary, while providing a level of privacy to the internal spaces of the proposal beyond. The strict setting-out mirrors the careful pacing of the shallow brickwork steps behind, and the deep chamfered window bays internally. A natural zinc cladding wraps the higher facades and terminates the parapets through extended bespoke drip details, with enlarged hoppers and downpipes. The natural zinc, formed bespokely on site, will slowly patina in time forming a subtle, varied texture to the upper facades of the project.
All of the external windows and doors, with the exception of those that directly exit to the new terrace, are detailed as a complex, stepped curtain wall construction. Very high-level glazing forms the two sides of the sunken area of the extension as they meet with the corner of the existing house. These windows are key to the project, and allow for natural light to enter very deeply into the plan from a high level internally.
Integral to the scheme is the tectonic refinement of the exposed materials used throughout. An engineered, exposed structural timber frame of glulam beams forms a deep waffle slab that sits atop a white brickwork plinth. All of the timber members were pre-cut for assembly on site, with the frame and fixings being left fully exposed internally. A focus on detail, and a deliberate honesty and celebration of stark, layered construction is employed throughout. Additional elements like bespoke handrails designed by the architect, and mirrored stainless steel sheeting internally, completes the scheme.
Architect: James Alder Architects
Client: Private
Structural Engineer: Ameet Mistry, Three Six Design
Main Contractor: Techneco
Photography: Johan Dehlin
Completion: Completed 2024
New-build Floor Area: 170 sqm
57 sqm (extension) + 68 sqm (terracing) + 45 sqm (refurbishment)
Sector: Residential
Total Cost: Private
Procurement: Traditional. RIBA Domestic Building Contract 2018
Location: Crystal Palace, London
Contractor Team: Lucan Fleet (Director/Foreman), Lee Harfleet (Joiner), Travior Palmer, Cain Fleet, Barry Murphy, Piotr Gil, Sean Jackman & Michael Davidson.
Building Control: Assure Building Control
External Zinc Façade: Modtrad Zinc Roofing
Handrail Fabricator: AD Metalwork Solutions
Internal Timber Window Fabricator: Interfusion Joinery
Window & Door Fabricator & Installer: Bespoke Windows & Doors RG
Window & Door Supplier: Cortizo
Concrete Flooring: Lazenby
Kitchen Designer: James Alder Architects
Kitchen Fabricator: Naked Kitchens
Planning Permission for the scheme was granted in the summer of 2022, and the project began construction on site in the summer of 2023. The project was completed in December of 2024.
The stepped massing of the project, and its scope more generally, is informed by an ambitious domestic programme for a split-level, ground floor extension of this type. Internally, a new kitchen, dining space and sunken lounge are the primary living spaces of the scheme. Additionally, a series of flexible auxiliary spaces have also been built as part of the project internally, these include, an internal greenhouse and potting shed, a small bike workshop, a utility space and pantry, and a new WC. All of these spaces extend outward and downward to the terraced garden and landscaping beyond.
The exposed corner site and its heavily sloped condition, allows for the play of multiple stepped levels, both inside and out. Many of these level changes are defined by numerous planters, that similarly play a role in integrating the garden with the wider scope of the project.
Key to the project, is its direct relationship to both the existing garden beyond, and to the forming of flexible internal spaces dedicated to horticulture. The project seeks to merge and extend the practice of horticulture in and out of more typically domestic environments. Internally, the potting room has a very direct and purposeful relationship with the sunken living spaces beyond, controlling the passage of heat and air around the ground floor through a pair of bespoke oak-framed internal windows that can be set to a number of configurations. These in turn have a series of adaptable shelving areas and timber surfaces behind that can be reconfigured to the changing needs of the occupants.
In addition, very large areas of the southwest-facing façade are also openable, to allow for variations in use. This allows for the whole of the ground floor extension, depending upon its desired function, to act more broadly as a greenhouse throughout, giving the inhabitants the choice as to how much of the interior space is given over to horticulture or not.
Externally, the project also provides for a large new terrace, and a significant area of stepped landscaping that terminates with the construction of a large, street-facing, stepped boundary wall. The boundary wall is formed from an English bond of stepped white brick, with whitened timber above, that manages the steep level changes of the corner site’s street-facing boundary, while providing a level of privacy to the internal spaces of the proposal beyond. The strict setting-out mirrors the careful pacing of the shallow brickwork steps behind, and the deep chamfered window bays internally. A natural zinc cladding wraps the higher facades and terminates the parapets through extended bespoke drip details, with enlarged hoppers and downpipes. The natural zinc, formed bespokely on site, will slowly patina in time forming a subtle, varied texture to the upper facades of the project.
All of the external windows and doors, with the exception of those that directly exit to the new terrace, are detailed as a complex, stepped curtain wall construction. Very high-level glazing forms the two sides of the sunken area of the extension as they meet with the corner of the existing house. These windows are key to the project, and allow for natural light to enter very deeply into the plan from a high level internally.
Integral to the scheme is the tectonic refinement of the exposed materials used throughout. An engineered, exposed structural timber frame of glulam beams forms a deep waffle slab that sits atop a white brickwork plinth. All of the timber members were pre-cut for assembly on site, with the frame and fixings being left fully exposed internally. A focus on detail, and a deliberate honesty and celebration of stark, layered construction is employed throughout. Additional elements like bespoke handrails designed by the architect, and mirrored stainless steel sheeting internally, completes the scheme.
Architect: James Alder Architects
Client: Private
Structural Engineer: Ameet Mistry, Three Six Design
Main Contractor: Techneco
Photography: Johan Dehlin
Completion: Completed 2024
New-build Floor Area: 170 sqm
57 sqm (extension) + 68 sqm (terracing) + 45 sqm (refurbishment)
Sector: Residential
Total Cost: Private
Procurement: Traditional. RIBA Domestic Building Contract 2018
Location: Crystal Palace, London
Contractor Team: Lucan Fleet (Director/Foreman), Lee Harfleet (Joiner), Travior Palmer, Cain Fleet, Barry Murphy, Piotr Gil, Sean Jackman & Michael Davidson.
Building Control: Assure Building Control
External Zinc Façade: Modtrad Zinc Roofing
Handrail Fabricator: AD Metalwork Solutions
Internal Timber Window Fabricator: Interfusion Joinery
Window & Door Fabricator & Installer: Bespoke Windows & Doors RG
Window & Door Supplier: Cortizo
Concrete Flooring: Lazenby
Kitchen Designer: James Alder Architects
Kitchen Fabricator: Naked Kitchens