Modernist Villa Refurbishment and Extension

Rural village location in Warwickshire

Studio Spicer Architects were appointed in 2021 to lead the renovation and extension of a unique modernist house designed by celebrated architect Peter Womersley.

 

Cedar Lawns was completed in 1964 and features an exposed concrete frame with apparently floating brick panels to the upper floor over an entirely glazed ground floor. The house exhibits strong connectivity to the surrounding landscape but suffers from overheating in summer and poor energy performance in winter due to the extensive single glazing and outdated levels of insulation.

 

Our client sought to extend the property and improve the thermal performance of the building, updating the tired fabric, whilst still respecting the form, language, and materials of the original dwelling. The proposal introduces double glazing throughout whilst updating the insulation levels to modern standards and incorporates passive solar design to reduce the energy demands. At ground floor an infill extension has been included to improve the connection of the original dwelling and single storey annex (constructed in the 1990s) with the currently isolated addition of the double garage (in 2019) to provide additional amenity space whilst creating more cohesive floor plan. On the first floor, a copper clad extension has been added perpendicular to the original dwelling with a glazed link creating a clear distinction between new and old, forming a sympathetic addition to the modernist architecture that responds to rhythm of the buildings exposed structure whilst acknowledging the materiality of the surrounding area.

 

With an update to the surrounding garden, the architecture and landscape combine to blur the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces creating a playful open plan ground floor with the spaces requiring greater privacy elevated close to the canopy of the mature cedar trees.

 

The project received planning permission in 2022 and is currently under construction.