Grafton Street, Cambridge
Grafton Street, Cambridge
A comprehensive refurbishment and extension of a Victorian terraced house in Cambridge, involving significant spatial reconfiguration, full infrastructure upgrade, and ground and first floor extensions.
The project combines a wraparound ground floor extension (side and rear) with a first floor extension, alongside a complete internal refurbishment including rewire, re-plumb and structural reorganisation.
Context
The existing house was a constrained Victorian terrace with fragmented internal spaces and limited connection between ground floor living areas and the garden. The site is located within a conservation area, with nearby listed buildings influencing the planning approach.
Planning consent was secured for a substantial intervention comprising:
full-width side and rear ground floor extension forming a continuous new volume
first floor extension increasing bedroom accommodation
internal reconfiguration of the retained house
The brief was to fully modernise the building while retaining its street-facing character within a sensitive conservation context.
Architectural Strategy
The house is reorganised around a continuous ground floor extension, creating a unified kitchen, living and dining space that replaces the previously fragmented rear rooms.
At first floor, the extension enables the creation of a new master bedroom with ensuite and an additional family bathroom, improving spatial hierarchy and functionality across the upper level.
The retained front reception room is redefined as a snug, preserving the character of the original frontage while shifting primary family living to the rear extension.
Significant structural intervention enables the removal and reconfiguration of key internal walls, establishing a more open and connected spatial arrangement throughout.
Light & Spatial Condition
The wraparound extension introduces a continuous band of natural light to the rear of the house. A fully glazed lean-to roof further increases daylight penetration, drawing light deep into the kitchen and living space.
Large openings to the garden re-establish a direct relationship between interior and landscape, while the side extension increases spatial width and corrects the previously narrow proportions of the ground floor.
The result is a clear spatial hierarchy between:
quieter, retained front rooms
and open, light-filled rear living spaces
This separation gives the house a more legible and functional internal structure.
Material & Detail
The extension is expressed as a restrained contemporary volume, set in quiet contrast to the existing Victorian fabric.
Junctions between old and new are carefully controlled, with emphasis on clean interfaces between masonry, new structure and enlarged openings.
Internally, material transitions reinforce the shift from retained front rooms to the open-plan rear extension, clarifying the change in spatial character.
Performance & Infrastructure
The project includes a full infrastructure upgrade:
complete rewire
full re-plumbing
thermal and fabric improvements across the building
The extensions improve overall efficiency by consolidating key living functions into a single coherent ground floor plan and upgrading envelope performance through the new construction elements.
Project Information
Project: Grafton Street
Location: Cambridge, UK
Year: 2019
Status: Completed
Budget: £450,000
Scope: Full refurbishment with wraparound ground floor extension and first floor extension
Key Features:
Planning consent for full-width side and rear ground floor extension
First floor extension forming master suite and additional bedroom/bathroom
Complete internal refurbishment and structural reconfiguration
Full rewire and re-plumb
Open-plan kitchen, living and dining space to rear
Retained front reception room converted to snug
Improved spatial hierarchy and circulation
Enhanced connection to garden and natural light
This Victorian terraced house in the Kite Conservation area was extensively refurbished and extended, to add an extra bedroom and bathroom and an exceptional living area to the rear.
