Stepping Out

Sarah Jenkins and Andy Rough added a new glazed kitchen extension to introduce some much-needed light and space to their Glaswegian basement flat

- Caroline Ednie

A certain ingenuity and sensitivity would be required when Andy Rough and Sarah Jenkins were seeking to create space and bring more light into their ground and basement garden apartment in Glasgow’s West End. The Victorian sandstone townhouse that features their duplex is not only listed but set within a conservation area. Therefore a light touch would be necessary for the contemporary intervention the couple sought.

The couple had lived in the home since 2006 and decided they would like to extend the property, principally to create more social space in order to cook and entertain, as well as to make the most of their courtyard garden and the sandstone washhouse that was in a poor state of repair. As they had no desire to move from this attractive period property and its ideal location, they sought an architect to help realise their ambitions. Initially, a local architect came up with a design concept but the project was subsequently taken over by Alastair MacIntyre of Glasgow based McInnes Gardner Architects.

DEVELOPING THE DESIGN

The couple’s brief was to develop the garden space to include a large and light open-plan kitchen, to create a new utilities area and reorganise the adjoining spaces to feature a new dining space. “We saw the opportunity to celebrate the garden by creating a more generous kitchen and dining space that would connect to the garden, bringing light into the core of the house and in the process opening up the ground spaces to flow more freely,” explains Alastair MacIntyre.