Structural Design for a High-End Residential Extension and Remodel
Renovation & extension ยท Surrey
Oatlands Close is the renovation and extension of an existing four-bedroom house in Surrey, designed by SOUP Architects and recognised in the RIBA South East Awards 2018. As the structural engineer on the scheme, BTA Structural Design engineered the new ground floor extension, first floor bedroom and garden studio that finally connect the house to its garden. It is a clear example of our residential structural design work, where careful engineering lets bold architecture get built.
4-bedroom
house extended & renovated
Surrey
project location
2018
RIBA South East awards
2
RIBA awards won
Project details
Location
Surrey, UK
Client
Private
Architect
SOUP Architects
Structural Engineer
BTA Structural Design Ltd
Main Contractor
Verve Concepts
Landscape Design
Rosalind Millar Landscape Design
RIBA South East Regional Award 2018 & RIBA South East Small Project Award 2018
Structural engineer for a Surrey renovation and extension
We worked with SOUP Architects on renovating and extending an existing four-bedroom house on a long north to south site in Surrey. The original house had a very poor connection to a fantastic rear garden, and because the plot sits on the bend of the road the house meets the long garden at an angle. That awkward geometry created an interesting dynamic and a real opportunity for the design.
As the structural engineer for the extension and renovation, BTA developed the structure that lets the new accommodation stretch confidently into the plot while the existing house is retained and reworked around it. This kind of design-led alteration to an occupied family home is the same residential structural design thinking we brought to Rylett Road, another reworked London house.
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Engineering the extension, first floor bedroom and garden studio
Our structural design stretches a new ground floor extension across the width of the site, opening the house up to the east as it reaches into the garden. A new lower garden studio is set into the slope as a stand-alone workspace, and a new main bedroom is added at first floor level, set back from the edge for privacy and tied into the retained circulation. It is the same load-path thinking we applied at Terrace House, another London home reworked around its existing fabric.
Each of these moves placed its own demands on the structure. The single storey extension needed beams and supports coordinated with wide glazing to the garden, the first floor addition had to transfer its loads cleanly into the existing house, and the detached studio called for its own foundations on a planted, sloping plot. As a residential structural engineer in Surrey, we resolved these load paths so the architecture could read as simple and bold.
Simple, bold forms still rely on quiet engineering to carry their loads and resolve every junction between old and new.
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A robust palette and a buildable result
The new buildings are constructed from a contrasting light grey brick, with sedum roofs to both the studio and the ground floor extension that soften the additions into a newly planted garden. The material palette is deliberately simple and robust, used on walls inside and out to give a solid, sculptural quality without fussy detailing or complex junctions.
Behind that calm finish sits careful structural design. Simple, bold forms still need their loads carried, their openings framed and their junctions between old and new fabric resolved, all backed by structural calculations for Building Control. Delivered on a reasonably tight budget, Oatlands Close shows how clear engineering and clever resourcefulness produce a high quality result, work that was recognised with two RIBA South East awards in 2018.
If you are planning a renovation or extension and need a structural engineer, we would be glad to help.
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What we did on Oatlands Close
Service
Residential structural design
Project
Renovation and extension of an existing four-bedroom house
Extension
Structure for a full-width single storey ground floor extension
First floor
New main bedroom added and tied into the retained structure
Garden studio
Stand-alone studio with its own foundations and sedum roof
Compliance
Structural calculations and design information for Building Control
Collaboration
SOUP Architects, with Verve Concepts as main contractor
Recognition
RIBA South East Regional & Small Project Awards 2018
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