Located in a conservation area close to Brook Green, London, Reeded House occupies a shallow site overshadowed by a six storey commercial building to the rear. This proximity challenged the architects to introduce light into the property and provide smoother access to the small garden, without compromising the clients privacy or frame views to the neighbouring brick behemoth. The four-storey Victorian house was in poor condition and had been arranged into three small, disconnected flats over time. The success of the project is underpinned by one small yet mighty design decision, the addition of a two-metre deep, double height rear extension which unlocked the homes’ potential. This vertical design solution allowed the architects to redesign the entry sequence, adjust circulation spaces, bring an abundance of light in, maintain privacy and reconnect the many levels of the home. To add visual impact to the much-improved plan, Oliver Leech Architects worked vertically, adding reeded Linit glass panels to the double height extension. The Reeded House is one of the first private residential projects in the United Kingdom to use this material, which features a reeded texture on the internal face to create soft, translucent light and distorted views, which maintains privacy. The light cast by the glass panels glows, infused with the soft colour reflected from nearby trees and the brickwork on adjacent buildings. At night the extension shimmers with the welcoming warm tones of the pendants and rich oak joinery. The clients presented Oliver Leech Architects with a rigorous and detailed design brief requiring a home for formal and casual entertaining, space for a growing family, and minimal yet luxurious interiors. Circulation was an important consideration that allowed the architects to create a cohesive, connected floorplan - a radical remodelling from the previously disconnected bedsit configuration. Oliver Leech Architects explored many internal configurations to best link the living spaces, arriving at light, open multi-level living areas. Upon entry, a restored original staircase is illuminated by a large vertical rear window which draws occupants right through the home to a new custom-designed contemporary stairway, leading down into the large open plan kitchen and dining space on the lower ground floor. This entry sequence delivers guests into the heart of the home under the reeded glass extension, an impressive arrival point for dinner parties and family brunches.