Room to improve: a new beginning for an old building

Kya deLongchamps says conforming to the original design does not always work. But a radical design departure can complement the existing structure.

IN the past, most homeowners honoured a building by slavishly mimicking the original structure when extending it. A highly contemporary addition to a building, be it old or relatively new, can seem a frightening, immodest leap.

Still, it has a creative honesty that allows us to wring so much more from the new square metres, merging the aspect, beauty and light around the site and the house.