A few weeks ago, I sat down with our team at Bradley Van Der Straeten Architects to talk through one of the most exciting projects we have in the studio right now — the renovation and transformation of a grand Victorian mansion house in Bristol. It’s a commission that has challenged and stretched us in the best possible ways — from the intricacies of multi-generational living to the subtlety required to bring contemporary interventions into a much-loved period home.
This house isn’t just being refurbished — it’s being reimagined. Once a single-family home, it’s now being adapted to support three generations living together under one roof. The lower ground floor is becoming a dedicated flat for the client’s mother, while the rest of the home continues to serve the younger family. The brief called for true separation — physical, acoustic, and functional — without losing the feeling of being part of a single home. That meant tackling some hefty challenges in how we think about flow, privacy, and identity in domestic architecture.
Making the Basement a Home
One of our first tasks was to change the perception — and performance — of the lower ground floor. We knew we had to make it feel like a ground floor flat in its own right, not a tucked-away basement. To do that, we’ve lowered the floor to improve head height and worked carefully to introduce natural light and a sense of volume and openness.
As we dug into the detail, we were fortunate to work with a client who is incredibly knowledgeable about sustainability and building performance. This led to a truly collaborative design process, especially when it came to energy strategy. Early reports from a specialist consultant revealed that the house’s solid stone walls were performing better than expected — a surprising but welcome finding that helped shape our approach. Instead of applying blanket insulation, we’re focusing on breathable upgrades, better airtightness, and a transition from gas boilers to a heat pump.
Taming Volume, Creating Comfort
What surprised us most wasn’t just the scale of the house — it was the difficulty in making those vast rooms feel comfortable. When you’re dealing with this kind of volume, it’s not about cramming in more furniture. It’s about zoning, texture, and light.
We’ve used changes in materiality — from acoustic panels to subtle shifts in colour and tone — to give rhythm and intimacy to the larger spaces. One of our favourite moments in the design is the kitchen island: a six-metre-long sculptural element that began as a playful idea involving barrels. It’s now become a kind of centrepiece — a functional sculpture that anchors the kitchen and brings personality into the heart of the home.
The Pavilion: A Modern Counterpart
But perhaps the most striking part of the project is what’s happening adjacent to the property. Facing the garden, we’re building a new pavilion — a contemporary addition designed for play, storage, and everyday living. It’s a structure that contrasts boldly with the original house, yet it’s also grounded in the same sense of place.
We’ve clad the pavilion in copper, which subtly echoes the brown tones of the existing stone. Its internal palette is warm, using timber and natural fibres to create a completely different atmosphere. Unlike other projects where we’ve tried to make transitions seamless, here we’re deliberately marking the contrast. A glass link reveals the original external wall, creating a sense of architectural storytelling between old and new.
Sustainability played a huge role in this part of the project too. The pavilion sits on existing foundations, avoiding unnecessary excavation, and uses triple-glazed windows and high-performance construction methods to ensure it’s low-impact and energy efficient. We made a conscious decision to avoid full-height glazing — not because we couldn’t, but because we wanted the pavilion to feel sunken, protected, and a little bit magical.
Designing for the Future, Learning from the Past
As we move into the first stages of construction — with the kitchen now opening out to the garden and ceilings raised in the lower ground floor — we are struck by how much this project is teaching us. It’s a home that reflects a new kind of family life: one where generations support one another, where character and comfort sit side by side, and where sustainability isn’t a bolt-on, but baked into every decision.
It’s also part of a growing trend we’re seeing more of — clients moving outside London, often post-Covid, and looking to make long-term investments in homes that really work for their lives. These are often complex projects that require creative solutions, and we love bringing our experience from tight urban sites to more expansive settings.
As the first site visits approach and the spaces start to take shape physically, there’s always that electric moment when ideas drawn in 2D or visualised in 3D come to life in bricks, stone, and timber. We’re preparing for that — and for the clients to see, maybe for the first time, what it really means to live in a space shaped around them, their needs, and their future.
Interview by George at Bradley Van Der Straeten Architects
Visualisations by Spectrum
About us
Bradley Van Der Straeten is an award-winning architecture studio that believes creative design can improve everyday life. Established in 2010 by friends George Bradley and Ewald Van Der Straeten, the studio loves creating colourful, fun and liveable spaces for the emotionally invested. To contact us about your project click HERE.
