The project is an extension to a Grade II listed, half timbered cottage. It stands in a prominent position at the head of a picturesque village green in the centre of one of Hertfordshire's key rural conservation areas. The oldest part of the house dates from the 16th century and is essentially enfilade in plan. During the 1980's the plan was reconfigured with the addition of a single storey timber and glass corridor to the rear of the property enabling each of the rooms on the ground floor to be accessed individually. Although this significantly improved the internal circulation, it did not address the inherent drawbacks of a property of this age and type - poor daylighting, low ceilings and the lack of a single large living space suitable for the needs of modern family life. The brief was to create a new kitchen/family room, utility room, entrance hall and downstairs cloakroom and provide a new double garage. The project was to be light and airy and contemporary in design and provide a distinct contrast to the existing building yet still sit comfortably within its context. Given the building's setting and listed status, this became the project's central challenge. The extension is visually split into two areas. There is the 'barn' element, which contains the new kitchen and double garage, and a low 'link' section, housing the new large entrance hall, which connects to the existing house. The 'barn' is deliberately simple in form so as to mimic the local agricultural vernacular. It is clad in a combination of western red cedar and iroko timber that has been detailed to enable the subtle integration of large areas of glass into external walls whilst maintaining the horizontal continuity of the elevations. Within the kitchen, part of the glass wall opens up onto a new verandah with the garden beyond. The kitchen has also been given a double height, conical-shaped ceiling. Its purpose is to reflect the afternoon sunlight down into the space via a high-level oriel window; it also acts as a refreshing surprise to the low ceilings of the old house. By contrast, the 'link' is seen as the visually subservient element of the extension as it is performing the bridging role of connecting the 'barn' to the house. It creates a natural progression of space from the confined nature of the existing rooms to the volume of the kitchen and, ultimately, to the outside. Its mass is kept low as an important counterpoint to the presence of the original cottage, acknowledging the proportions of the latterly added glazed corridor. The resolution of the design grew out of a desire to reconcile the contemporary with the historical. In form and material there was a clear challenge in respecting the mass and fabric of the original house in a genuinely contemporary structure. This counterplay extends to the integration of the kitchen/family room, reconciling modern family life with the shortcomings of the restricting historical plan form. Finally, by manipulating ideas of familiarity and disguise the finished building is one which at once looks recognisable yet on closer inspection reveals itself to be something quite different.