Imber Court Cottage

A water edge that informed modern extension

An amazing site in the heart of Molesey with 4 acres of land and 2 rivers intertwining in front a charismatic cottage. the building is in dire need of restoration and the client came to us asking for a modern extension to existing (limited by the Green Belt). This was a real Planning  challenge.

In addition, the clients heart was set on low energy and EnerPHit (PassivHaus retrofit) principles appealed. The building needed a full retrofit which suited the EnerPHit process.

We have undergone numerous iteration of design and arrived at the modern and sleek exterior at the back hidden from sight of passer-by’s, where the front of the cottage remained true to its heritage with no changed to either the ridge line or fenestrations. Being on the water edge, we had to consider flooding risks in our design which we embraced and used to our advantage developing a man-made lake that was able to act as part of flood defences.

Unfortunately, the project was never realised but it is still one of our favourites to date!