Calais Street is a mid terrace two storey house, set in a row of six similar properties. Substantial structural works and alterations were carried out to revive this 19th-century building. At ground floor, the rear area hosts the kitchen, dining and living space in an open plan arrangement. At the front a traditional reception room has been retained for use as a study or guest bedroom.
Large sliding doors at the rear of the house maximise physical and visual links to the garden. The plan is extended into side return with a fully glazed roof to maximise the width and bring additional natural light into the living area.
A plywood staircase acts as the spine to the building with skeletal slatted balusters extending through first and loft floors above. A glazed roof above the stair permits daylight to penetrate into a central atrium, filtering down the stair to the kitchen and also through a glazed floor into the dining area.
On the upper floors, there are three large bedrooms, each with en-suite bathrooms to suit an adult co-living set up.
The interior is designed to express the natural beauty of its method of construction. Existing imperfect masonry walls have been stripped of old plaster, repointed and colour washed. The timber and steelwork of new floor and roof structures have been carefully set out and finished to be exposed decorative elements. Throughout the ground floor, there is a polished concrete screed, and the dining table itself is formed from welded cantilevered steel and concrete.