Cúl an Tí reimagines a modest kitchen and dining extension to a period end-of-terrace house. Working entirely within the footprint of an existing rear extension, the project demonstrates how carefully considered interventions can transform the experience of a home without increasing its size. Through the integration of architecture, furniture, landscape, water and light, a series of overlooked spaces have been reassembled into a richly connected domestic environment.

The existing single-storey extension had reached the end of its life and was dismantled and rebuilt on the original footprint. Rather than seeking additional floor area, the design focused on unlocking the potential of the house and its surrounding gardens. An underused side garden has been brought into daily life, extending the perceived boundaries of the kitchen and dining space beyond its physical limits.

Central to the project is the replacement of a conventional boundary wall with a corten steel screen and reflecting pond. Conceived as both a spatial and ecological device, the screen filters views, light and movement between the rear garden, side garden and street, while supporting climbing plants that will increasingly intertwine architecture and landscape over time.

Rainwater collected from the roof emerges through a custom corten steel spout into the reflecting pond below before overflowing into a sculptural corten steel installation and returning to the surrounding landscape. The pond introduces sound, reflection, biodiversity and seasonal change into everyday life.

Internally, a corten steel cabinet connects directly with the garden structure beyond, dissolving the distinction between interior and exterior. Custom plywood joinery, timber worktops and a circular rooflight create a warm and tactile interior animated by changing daylight.

Without adding a single square metre of floor area, Cúl an Tí transforms the home through a careful choreography of views, water, light, planting and occupation.