Mirror Pod Extension

Photography Credit: Richard Fraser Photography

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Mirror Pod Extension to Grade II Listed Thatched Cottage

This project involved the remodelling and extension of a Grade II Listed, 200-year-old Thatched Cottage in the Fen Ditton Conservation Area on the edge of Cambridge with the aim of creating a practical family home fit for 21st Century living.

The property consisted of the historic Cottage (formed by the amalgamation of 3 former workers’ cottages) which had been extend to the rear in the 1980’s and a separate detached Pool House. The internal accommodation was accessed by three staircases and was somewhat chaotic.

The design intent was to rationalise the internal circulation and spaces, connect the new and existing buildings with the wider site context and River Cam, and to express the articulation of the historical development of the property over time.

The decision was taken to remove the unsympathetic 1980’s rear additions allowing reinstatement of the original Cottage façade and create a new extension ‘Pod’ that would sit away from the Cottage and angled to exploit views of the River Cam through the Pool House and allow views back to the Cottage from within.

The new extension ‘Pod’ is envisaged as a futuristic “spaceship” that has landed in the back garden, expressed with the use of modern materials of reflective metal and glass to provide contrast with the historic materials of thatch and render so that each element can be read independently to articulate the historical development of the property and with the intention of making the new extension visually ‘disappear’ into its garden context.

Allowing the existing property to be adapted to 21st Century Living standards through modernisation and thermal improvement will hopefully help in the retention and preservation of this historic asset for generations to come.

This project was Shortlisted for a Greater Cambridge Design & Construction Award and 2025 RIBA East Award and has been included in The Architects’ Journal - Buildings Library.