Riverside House

Riverside House sits at the precise edge where Cambridge gives way to open landscape – on the Green Belt boundary, within a conservation area and close to listed buildings. Prominent in the street, it holds a special relationship between the tightly grained urban fabric and the open riverside common beyond.

Yet the existing house turned inward, leaving key rooms disconnected from the views, light and openness that make the address special. The brief was clear: more space, better space, and a house that finally looked outward.

The approved scheme extends the house to the rear, side and into the roofspace, reorganising all three levels without losing a single room. At ground floor, a generous open-plan kitchen, dining and living space is oriented toward the garden, with a separate snug as a quieter counterpoint.

The first floor is transformed around a principal suite with dressing room and a private rooftop terrace, elevated above the river and the Green Belt beyond. Above, a further bedroom and en-suite occupy the roofspace.

Conservation area constraints, nearby listed buildings, Green Belt adjacency and the site’s prominence each placed real limits on what could be proposed – compounded by a recent refusal of a comparable scheme by a previous architect. The brief to FT Studio was unambiguous: retain the same ambition, and this time secure consent.

That meant starting again – not from the refused proposal, but from the site itself. Every move was tested against its setting and carefully argued in planning terms. Consent was granted for a scheme that delivered everything the client had originally set out to achieve.

The design is contemporary, confident and carefully judged. The rear and side extensions respect the semi-detached character of the house and its relationship to street and neighbour, while the set-back rooftop extension creates unhindered views of the landscape. Materials are rooted in the local context – familiar in reference, exacting in execution.