Threshold House is a project for a side extension to an existing 1950s detached house in the Swanston neighbourhood of Edinburgh.
The proposal replaces an existing garage with useful extra space to the house, offering a ground-floor shower room, utility and flexible spare bedroom / workspace. The rooms retain their own front door and could act as an annex, let separately to the main house or as accessible facilities for the owners in the future.
A new public threshold is formed into the extension directly and was a principal driver for the design, navigating the change in level from the street upwards, and creating a covered outdoor bench / planting area fed by rainwater from an overhanging roof.
Croftworks Architecture were approached for this project as local architects with a special focus in ecological new-build construction. Throughout, the building has been designed using natural insulation, timber and lime plaster and render. The designs make best use of natural light and create a soft entrance threshold onto the street mediating the public domain.
A palate of green and yellow glazed brick on the outside picks up on the mid-century sloped brick window-sill details of the original house. Inside Douglas Fir timber rafters and windows are exposed and combined with lime plaster and tilework to create a considered, lofty and harmonious whole. High-level glazing, skylights and internal windows allow all the spaces to benefit from dynamic and softened light over the course of the day.
