The Saddlery is a listed south London home that nods to its past and looks to the future
The Saddlery by Studio Octopi is a project adding a playful green rear extension to a Grade II-listed cottage in south London
![the saddlery's green rear facade](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CcRKCpn4n7qpdYYKzWg2be-415-80.jpg)
The Saddlery is a project enriching a Grade II-listed late Georgian house in Blackheath Village in south London. Architecture practice Studio Octopi was called upon to create a single-storey, full-width rear extension to a family home – a seemingly simple brief to which the architects responded with flair and imagination, crafting a green, metal-clad volume at the property's garden side. At the same time, they composed a dramatic, gallery-like interior behind it, revealing both contemporary elements and the historic home's period textures.
The Saddlery: bridging old and new
Initially built in 1808 and enviably facing the green expanses of Blackheath, the original house was of modest – yet balanced – proportions and, occupied at some point by a master farrier, had become known as the ‘saddlery’ since the 1840s.
It was at that time that an alleyway next to the residence was infilled to add to its size, taking it from a three-bay to an asymmetrical four-bay house. In the years to come, the property underwent further changes, including damage caused during the Blitz and alterations to its doors and structural buttresses.
Inheriting the home, the current client approached Studio Octopi with a commission for extra space for entertaining – a flagship room that would become both a showpiece and the living, beating heart of the home for receiving guests and family.
While the architects' brief was to focus on the new elements only, it was important to address the structure as a whole in their solution and volume composition. 'There are no alterations to the basement, raised ground or upper floors. Critical to the design solution was the need to rationalise the levels, restore the rear elevation and make sense of the four doors from the house into the garden,' the team write.
Working with heritage and planning constraints to sculpt their volume, the architects added a smart, green steel cladding, 'chosen as a counterpoint to the red brick of the original house'. This also now provides a secondary entrance to the house.
Inside, a glass staircase connects the extension with the existing, raised ground floor level. Round, feature openings on the ceiling help bathe the interior in natural light, at the same time adding drama to the space.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Modern materiality is also expressed through the granite step and load-bearing granite lintels on the extension's enlarged openings.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
An Uxbridge annexe by Bureau de Change is a design for effortless intergenerational living
Uxbridge Bower, a residential annexe in west London, is a contemporary addition offering both privacy and connection for the needs of a family
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published