Extension Architecture

Ask ten London architects which route works better for a residential loft conversion and you'll get two answers back. Half will recommend permitted development wherever the property qualifies. The other half will argue for a full planning application even when PD sits on the table. Both camps have real evidence behind their position. Neither is wrong. The right answer depends on the specific property, the specific brief, and how much design ambition the family carries into the project. The full argument below sits inside every conversation with a competent loft conversion service team at first appointment, and it's worth understanding both sides before appointing anyone. The PD Camp Argument The permitted development route is faster. That's the starting point. A Prior Approval Notification under Class B of the General Permitted Development Order runs 6 to 8 weeks. Full householder planning applications run 10 to 16 weeks. On projects where the family wants to start on ...

Every family sitting in a London terrace with a growing brood eventually looks up at the ceiling and wonders whether the loft could do more. The honest answer is almost always yes, but the design that works depends entirely on what shape roof you're sitting under. Getting the roof type wrong at concept stage means the wrong planning route, the wrong budget forecast, and often the wrong bedroom footprint on completion. Working with a practice offering full loft conversion design and build means the roof survey happens before the design ambition is set, not after. Four main conversion types cover most London stock. Each one suits a specific roof shape, planning context, and family brief. Hip to Gable Conversions for Semi Detached and End Terrace Houses Semi detached homes and end terraces built between 1900 and 1960 usually carry a hip ended roof. The roof slopes inward at the side rather than running vertically to a gable wall. That hip slope eats into the usable loft volume. Squar...

Somewhere in a Victorian terrace on the north side of Clapham Common, a client walks up two flights of stairs, opens a set of French doors, and steps out onto a private roof terrace with morning coffee in hand. It's a small ritual. It didn't exist eighteen months ago. That daily moment is the outcome of a project completed in late 2024 at 92C Clapham Common. What used to be a cramped, unused attic in a period property is now a master bedroom suite with a walk in wardrobe, ensuite bathroom, and an outdoor terrace enclosed by frameless glass balustrades. The full architectural process and planning route on this particular set of Clapham loft conversions shows how a project of this shape gets past Wandsworth conservation officers without compromising the design intent. The Attic That Was Waiting Most Victorian terraces in Clapham North have an underused space at the top. Steep pitched roofs, small dormers, tiny storage rooms with limited headroom. The floor plate is often gen...

Every architect working in South London learns the same lesson around their tenth Victorian project. The houses look generous from the street and live like rabbit warrens inside. Small rooms. Load bearing walls everywhere. Kitchens trapped at the back. A family in Streatham came to us with one of these terraces. They wanted an open plan kitchen, dining and living zone for entertaining. They also wanted the original marble fireplace and the curved front room walls untouched. Project snapshot Location: Streatham, London Borough of Lambeth Existing footprint: 83.55 sqm Proposed footprint: 94.40 sqm Added floor area: 10.85 sqm Project type: Single storey wraparound + interior design If you want the full architectural pack for this scheme, Double storey wraparound extension   document the local council submission, the structural design and the interior layout from start to finish. The Structural Puzzle of a 19th Century Layout Victorian terraces were built with internal wal...

  Most people start a double storey extension thinking it's basically a single storey job with another floor stacked on top. That's the bit that gets expensive fast. The second floor changes everything about how the build sits on your existing house, how it feeds into the planning conversation, and how much your architect needs to think about before a single line gets drawn. We see this pattern a lot. A family in Wandsworth or Putney rings up after speaking to a builder, already convinced they know the scope. Then we walk through the structural side, the planning side, the layout shift that happens upstairs, and the room they planned suddenly looks very different. If you want a feel for how these jobs come together properly on the ground, our double storey extension in surrey shows the full process the way we run it for clients, from first sketch through to the finished build. Why a Double Storey Extension Isn't Just a Bigger Single Storey Job A single storey extensio...

Extension Architecture has been based at 231 Roehampton Lane in SW15 for years, and that physical presence in Putney shapes how we work in a way that firms based elsewhere simply cant replicate. We know which streets carry Article 4 Directions. We know how Wandsworth Council reads submissions from this specific corner of the borough. And we know what the Victorian and Edwardian terraces across SW15, SW18, and SW19 can realistically become when the planning process is handled properly. Forty four completed projects across Putney, a 98% planning approval rate, and around 60 active applications with Wandsworth Council at any given time. If youre looking for a Putney residential extension architect who genuinely knows this ground, that combination of local presence and project track record is what real expertise looks like. Why Article 4 Directions Are the First Thing We Check in SW15 Many homeowners in Putney start the extension process assuming their project falls within permitted dev...