Under Construction: Our Richmond New Build Starts to Take Shape

Denbigh Gardens is a complete demolish and rebuild in Richmond. The existing house is now a distant memory as we erect the steel frame that forms the skeleton of the entire ground floor, on top of which a traditional brick and block first floor and loft will be built.

The photo of the steel frame above looks in towards what will be the rear of the property, as shown in the 3D render below. A canopied roof creates a contemporary twist on traditional Asian architecture. This unique fusion of styles was a complex engineering challenge, as it required two horizontal steel beams of different sizes to frame the narrow glazing lining the top.

While the rear is all glass and steel, the front will be largely indistinguishable from the surrounding houses thanks to the traditional silhouette and high quality brick and lime mortar. Our clients originally wanted a basement as well, but decided the above-ground floors would provide enough space for what will be their retirement home.

An open plan kitchen and living space will fill most of the ground floor, while the first floor will house a master suite, en suite, study and library – which will house an impressive collection of limited edition artist print books from around the world. Guest and children’s bedrooms will be in the loft.

The heavy metal heart of the house

Before the steel frame was erected we had to excavate the foundations, creating an outline of the house to be. This is the first opportunity our clients have to take in the size of their new property in the real world.

The crane carefully lowered the horizontal steel bar onto the frame to form the top section of the canopy. The photo below gives a striking perspective of the scale of the operation as the enormous crane arm arcs overhead.

I look forward to sharing more from this project as steel and brick become a beautiful new build home.

Tom Drake