Flower House: Making Room for Light and Nature in Queen’s Park

Flower House, our transformation of a Victorian terrace in Queen's Park, is nearing completion. The 170-square-metre family home draws on the architecture of its street, reinterpreting familiar Victorian details to create new spaces shaped by daylight, planting and views of the sky.

The scaffolding is down, the render is being finished and the pendant lights have been switched on. With joinery and furniture still to come, these site photographs capture a moment when the spaces begin to reveal their proportions and connections, ready for the family to make them their own.

The garden elevation takes its cue from the street's Victorian arches, reinterpreted at a larger scale in white lime render. RISE Design Studio.

Familiar details, a new expression

The street provided the starting point. Along the terrace, white-painted lintels, bay window surrounds and entrances stand out against warm London stock brick. We carried this relationship through to the garden, giving the rear extension a character rooted in the original house.

The arches of the front door and bay window informed the new openings. Reinterpreted at a larger scale and framed in white lime render, they echo the Victorian frontage while establishing a distinct identity for the extension.

Tall, slim-framed black doors open the kitchen onto the terrace. Beside them, a window with a curved base extends above the eaves into roof glazing, bringing the garden and sky into a single view.

A further arched window faces the small gravel courtyard within the lightwell, drawing daylight into the middle of the ground floor. Inside, deep, softly curved reveals give the openings depth and presence. The curves shape the rooms as well as the exterior.

Deep curved reveals give each opening weight, while the lightwell brings daylight and planting into the middle of the plan. RISE Design Studio.

Room for a tree

Above the lightwell, a white canopy sweeps down from the party wall. A circular opening leaves space for a tree to grow through it.

This biophilic courtyard places planting at the heart of the plan, visible from deep within the house. As the tree matures, its branches and foliage will become a more prominent part of the outlook, bringing seasonal change close to the rooms around it.

The courtyard is one of several connections to the outdoors. Garden views, glimpses of treetops and roof glazing bring different aspects of the surroundings into everyday activities, from preparing a meal to sitting down to work.

The lowered ground floor gives the arched openings room to rise, with the pendant lights on for the first time. RISE Design Studio.

Space for family life

Lowering the ground floor created additional ceiling height at the rear of the house. A technically demanding intervention within the Victorian terrace, it has changed the proportions of the new spaces and given the curved openings room to rise.

Roof glazing draws the eye upwards, while a polished concrete floor runs through the kitchen and living spaces, providing a continuous surface beneath the sculptural forms above.

The ground floor accommodates the kitchen, dining area, pantry and study, with garden connections shaping the arrangement. Across the house, two dedicated home offices provide space for work alongside family life.

On the upper floors, bedrooms and bathrooms have been reconfigured. The top-floor room can serve as a gym, guest bedroom or study, allowing its use to change as the family's needs evolve.

Comfort for the long term

Our fabric-first, Passivhaus-informed approach to the retrofit begins with the building itself: improving its ability to retain heat and maintain comfortable conditions throughout the year.

High-performance glazing in the extension and careful attention to airtightness are designed to reduce heat loss. Natural ventilation strategies provide fresh air, while an air source heat pump supplies heating.

Alongside the adaptable layout, these measures help a Victorian house serve its family for generations to come.

The finishing touches

In the coming weeks, joinery and furniture will add another layer to Flower House before the family moves in.

We will return later this autumn with photography and film of the completed home. For now, these site photographs offer a first look at its defining features: the curved openings, the views through to the garden and sky, and the space left for a tree to grow.

Project details

• Architect: RISE Design Studio
• Contractor: CBC London
• Location: Hopefield Avenue, Queen's Park, London NW6
• Local authority: Brent
• Project: Single-family home extension and retrofit
• Internal area: 170 sqm GIA
• Client: Private

Planning an extension or retrofit?

If you are considering changes to a period home, we would love to hear about your plans. Please do get in touch, we're happy to help.

→ Email us at architects@risedesignstudio.co.uk
→ Or call the studio on 020 3947 5886

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