As engineers who tackle many architectural engineering conundrums, our rich project base has meant that we’ve always taken a first-principles approach to structural and civil design. Whilst we’re known for large projects, we’ve never shied away from smaller, more tailored work.
This is where the humble home extension comes in, and it doesn’t seem to be a question that will disappear for engineers anytime soon. It’s becoming increasingly important, considering the national housing crisis, and whilst we continue to work on and champion larger and more equitable projects that cater to demand in mass housing, there is much to be said for our existing building stock.
Approaches to retrofitting and climate resilience arise when families outgrow their current spaces, alongside an ever-modernising planning system and associated performance requirements. As engineers, we have guardianship to enable smart material choices. Whether this is a traditional extension, removal of a couple of walls, gentle cutting and carving of existing timber roof constructions, or basement works under an existing building, what we ultimately do is give authority to materials to achieve a client’s architectural vision. And this is just as true at home as it is on any other building site.
A private home is often the first type of project that junior engineers cut their teeth on, supported by careful mentorship from senior colleagues. It’s the best education on how to build and how to detail, where drawings and hand sketches sit alongside modern methods of modelling and analysis. ‘If you can’t draw it, then you can’t build it’ is an old adage at Price & Myers that still rings true. Our computational mastery supplements our use of analogue methods, rather than replacing them.
Engineers also act as master craftspeople. You’re dealing intimately with all aspects of a project: from permanent structure to temporary works design; from being there for the builder and client when they uncover something unexpected; to helping the architect detail a cost-effective yet striking structural solution. It’s also the basis for the most honest relationships we form with clients, helping people realise dignified homes for the future, or working with housing charities to unlock space within existing local housing stock.
Another joy of this world of work is how we can support emerging architectural practices. The residential sector is often where many of their journeys begin, and being there for that process is important to us. Likewise, even our larger collaborators will often return to this scale of work, for many of the reasons outlined above.
So here’s to the humble home extension, and to responding sensitively to the material, structural, and design questions it brings.
Photo credits:
1 - Aberdeen Park © Jim Stephenson
2 - Aden Grove © Taran Wilkhu
3 - Waghorn Street © Nick Dearden
4 - Sketching © Bedir Bekar
5 - Blythe Hill House sketch © Whittaker Parsons
6 & 7 - Blythe Hill House © Ellen Christina Hancock
8, 9 & 10 - Giroscope Extensions, Hull © Luke Hallet, BlokBuild
