An extension to a small shed in which the client had been living for close to a decade in simple yet homely fashion. Apart from increasing the footprint of the usable space, a central motivation for the client to build was to open the house to the spectacular eastern aspect that the building site enjoys. The progenitor of the extension was - in a diagrammatic sense - a scoop to draw the morning sunlight into and throughout the core of the house, reaching across to the kitchen located on the western wall. The roofline, depth of extension and openings were all largely determined by this fact. From this the relationship between the two building types became one of the driving forces in the evolution of the design; in balancing the two very different buildings next to each other, attached, but remaining distinct, and unifying the function and flow.

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Site constraints also played their part in the unfolding of the house, bending the layout to its will and initiating a dialogue between site and building. The gentle bend in the extension - that would have otherwise been a simple rectangle - occurred as a response to the discovery of vast sandstone ridges not far beneath the top soil and where one half of the extension was to be sited. A fortunate setback that developed into one of the finer aspects of the house, giving us cause to sweep the building around into a gentle arc.

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