Bringing the old and new together

We pride ourselves on our achievements with residential architecture in London, and have recently been shortlisted as one of the 24 candidates for the Architects Journal (AJ) Small Projects award. We were included in the second group of 12 projects (those costing between £125,000 and £250,000), following on from the first dozen announced a few days earlier. Our project was a modern side extension to a Victorian property in Queen's Park, London. The extension was designed to bridge the divide between old and new as well as bringing together the interior and exterior of the property and increasing floor space. The project has also taken adjacent properties into account with an unobtrusive sloping roof. The same work could easily be repeated on nearby properties if they want to similarly increase space without harming the aesthetics of the property and the area.The pitched roof of the new extension is made of glass, allowing natural light to flood the space and making it feel larger. Bi-fold doors let even more light in and can be opened up to bring the outside world in and allow the residents to step right out on to the patio. We are happy our project has been chosen because we believe it demonstrates a new way of considering residential architecture in London.Alongside our project on the shortlist are five other extensions, two freestanding houses, two workplaces, a temporary building and a Greek chapel. The first 12 projects announced were even more diverse including a bike shelter, a market hall and a climbing frame. All of the nominees are unique and respresent fantastic achievements for architecture.Each architect will have the opportunity to explain their project and the ideas behind it before a panel of judges. The winner will then be announced on March 18th. All of the projects will be put on display at the Building Centre in London from this date until April 11th, giving visitors the chance to see each one side by side.