Overstag

The house stands shoulder to shoulder with its twin, set in the middle of open fields. Yet despite the surrounding space, it was originally built like a terraced house: a closed side wall, with its focus turned inward. There was no view of the landscape, and certainly none of the garden. Rear annexes housing the bathroom and utility room were tacked on at the very back, blocking both daylight and access to the outdoors.

The house yields: after a century of stubbornly facing the street, it finally recognises its context. The floor plan and side wall are opened up to expand the view towards the garden and the surrounding fields. Dark and intimate rooms shift to the front of the house. The living spaces relocate to the rear, following the opened-up side wall and a glazed rear façade. The previously unused attic is transformed into a mezzanine, serving as the sleeping space for the children's rooms. A generous rear-facing dormer mirrors the original one at the front, offering views over garden and fields from the upper floors.

The house yields in another way too: like a ship adjusting its sails to reposition, it turns its gaze towards the garden, towards the fields. The entire orientation of the building pivots, and the unofficial terraced house becomes, at last, a true semi-detached dwelling. The roof of the extension echoes this shift. Its structural direction changes as the gaze slips around the corner. A canopy wraps around the house and serves a triple purpose: shelter from rain at the new side entrance; passive solar shading during the hottest months; and a gentle guide for the eye, moving outward through the floor-to-ceiling windows. By placing the entrance and canopy at the side, circulation is minimised and the new address of the house is clearly marked.