A light-filled kitchen and living extension helps a semi-detached Victorian home rediscover its identity, and is commended in the 2025 Daylight from Above Awards, organised by RIBAJ in partnership with VELUX
Judges liked the way the light was handled in this retrofit and rear extension to a Victorian semi-detached house in Islington, north London, which has been commended in the Light, Space and Atmosphere category of the 2025 Daylight from Above Awards, organised by RIBAJ in partnership with VELUX.
Robert Dye Architects opened up the rear of the building by removing previous leaky extensions to ‘rediscover’ the original house. A new extension was then added across the back to create a light-filled kitchen and living space with improved connection to the garden.
VELUX roof windows are used to bring dynamic light into the extended house. Over the ground-floor shower room, the toplight is combined with coloured panels on the internal face to bounce a warm glow into the space. Another, used in a horizontal format on the second floor, frames a panoramic view of tree foliage.
In the kitchen, the timber-framed extension is delineated from the original house by what the architects describe as a ‘glass moat’ skylight. This T-shaped slot brings natural daylight including an hour of sunlight onto the ‘discovered’ part-exposed brick and lime-rendered corner of the original villa.
Judges praised the variety of ways used to bring light in, combined with different materials, and especially liked the use of the glass moat to separate the new from the existing house.
The super-insulated rear extension connects to a rebuilt garden patio, and contributes to the project’s considerable thermal upgrade, which also extends to the main roof, a renewables strategy, rainwater harvesting and the removal of all gas energy.
See all winners and commended entries in the 2025 Daylight from Above Awards