WESTHILL ROAD, AWARD WINNER

We are delighted to announce that Number One Westhill Road, Leicester has won the RIBA East Midlands Award 2017.

The award was presented to Stephen George + Partners, and clients, Carl and Wendy Bebbington, at the annual ceremony which was held at the Roundhouse in Derby. All RIBA East Midland Awards winners will now be considered for the RIBA National Awards, which will be announced on Thursday 22 June.

The project is a domestic scheme of alterations and a ground floor extension to 1 Westhill Road, Leicester. It involved the demolition of an existing detached garage, utility room and conservatory.

The design brief required greater and improved family spaces, especially a new living space with a better relationship to the garden. There was also a need for improved ancillary accommodation to deal with the paraphernalia of a growing family. SGP’s response has been to contain these needs to the communal level of the ground floor with an extension that heeds the principle of subservience in terms of scale, form and style, so as not to compromise the special character of the main house and the surrounding area.

This design approach manifests in the distinct contrast between the solidity of the existing house and the apparent lightness and transparency of the single storey extension with flat roof, which is constructed with a large proportion of glass wall to the external envelope. The remainder of the design maintains the ethos of contemporary intervention.

A particular aspect of the project has been the care taken to respect the existing landscape and ecology. At the heart of this philosophy is the fulfilled desire to retain the existing Acer Campestre Field Maple deciduous tree at the centre of the garden, despite its close proximity to the buildings and the technical challenge to incorporate it into the design.

Congratulations to all involved.

Related Articles:

Leicester Mercury  | Architects Journal

Photography: Steve Baker