PROPERTY
A recent residential project by Glen Thomas Architecture in Penylan
Building on potential
In the view of Glen Thomas, at Glen Thomas Architecture (GTA) in Penylan, the decision on whether to move or stay depends entirely on the ‘potential’ of your home and the surrounding land. “GTA offers a free consultation to establish any opportunities for development and we sometimes undertake a feasibility study to assist homeowners in this decision,” he says. “Many period properties in Cardiff have had several lean-to add-ons for toilets, utility rooms or PVC conservatories to the rear of the ground floor over the years. Our ‘rationalisation’ approach is always to demolish these and relocate the utility functioning rooms into the central zone of the house, which can enable open-plan living. “A recent project we did [pictured above] saw the kitchen/diner/ lounge situated to the rear, utilising the full width of the property facing the garden, with full-height sliding glass doors. Additional glass doors through the internal rooms ensured an abundance of daylight would enter the core of the house. This transformed the previous network of small dark rooms, into larger, light-filled, visually connecting rooms. From the inside, the clients achieved a larger and more contemporary, functional house, without the need to move.”
“Smart design can do wonders for making a house feel bigger and function better” www.mediaclash.co.uk I CARDIFF LIFE I 49