Apple Tree Terrace by Scullion Architects Adds Victorian Extension

Scullion Architects has extended a Victorian terraced house in Dublin with a design that aligns functions with the site’s edges and attaches them to the structure.

Named Apple Tree Terrace, the project in Dublin, Ireland, is a hybrid construction that includes a concrete frame ground floor and a timber frame first floor.

A Victorian terraced house is extended to the rear, drawing closer to an old apple tree in the south-facing garden.

A narrow site demands that functions – kitchen, courtyard, stairs, stove, and study – align with edges and attach to structure, occasionally swelling towards the heart of the plan.

Handmade terracotta floor tiles unite internal and external space, like a carpet through the plot.

Blockwork and in-situ concrete are used sparingly, though prominently, as the primary structure at the ground floor.

Larch-clad timber frames complete the floor, wall, and roof structure on the upper level.

The house transforms in summer, when hardwood doors open fully to the courtyard and fold back to the rear, allowing the elemental concrete structure to stand free, pavilion-like, between party walls and bridging from house to garden.

Our cities demand higher-density housing without compromising quality of life.

The site is on a Victorian street with an already impressive low-rise density of 73 dwellings per hectare, achieved through long, narrow (under 5m) house plots, which, though dense, often lead to dark and claustrophobic living spaces.

This project explores how to adapt narrow houses in a manner that contributes to a sense of spaciousness and well-being with spaces to socialise, work, and play.

It offers a model for contemporary homes with longevity and flexibility in mind, built in a hybrid construction of a concrete frame ground floor and timber frame first floor.