studio bark retrofits victorian-era ‘meadow house’ with cork and timber extension

meadow house: a structure reworked from within

Studio Bark has completed Meadow House, a deep retrofit and extension of a Victorian villa located on Meadow Road in Tunbridge Wells, England. The residential project delivers a 75% reduction in energy bills while expanding the home’s footprint by 27%, pairing environmental performance with a tactile and deeply personal design.

Before the renovation, which introduced an extension of timber and cork, the house had remained largely unchanged for half a century. Poor thermal performance, damp, and an outdated layout made daily life uncomfortable for the homeowners, a young family of four. Studio Bark was tasked with reimagining the building while preserving the essential character of the original structure.

The team’s approach focuses on reconfiguring the internal spaces to better serve contemporary family life. A new, fifty square-meter rear extension houses a kitchen-diner, utility room, pantry, and side entrance. This extension was built by the clients using Studio Bark’s modular U-Build system, enabling a hands-on, incremental process of construction with minimal waste.

images © Jim Stephenson, courtesy Studio Bark

studio bark’s sunlit victorian retrofit

At the core of Studio Bark’s Meadow House, a triple-height atrium brings light and volume to the center of the plan. Positioned at the transition point between the Victorian structure and the new addition, the atrium is framed by the original staircase and capped by a series of rooflights. It offers a vertical axis of connection, drawing in daylight and easing the flow between old and new without requiring visual or spatial uniformity. This way, the architects balance openness with privacy. Circulation spaces are widened and reoriented, while storage and utility spaces are tucked into the edges.

The interior palette contrasts preserved Victorian features with natural materials that emphasize texture and tactility. Architraves and timber floors have been restored, while exposed spruce plywood and natural cork cladding lend the new areas a quiet warmth. Throughout the house, reuse and craftsmanship are emphasized. Furniture has been reupholstered, joinery is bespoke, and the pantry has been designed around an inherited dresser. The children’s bedrooms, housed within the U-Build framework, create a playful offset in scale and material — what the family describes as ‘feeling like a treehouse.’

the project is a retrofit and extension of a Victorian home in Tunbridge Wells

passive strategies and circular construction

Alongside its spatial character, Studio Bark defines its Meadow House by its environmental ambition. The retrofit includes a comprehensive thermal upgrade using low-carbon, breathable materials such as cork, wood fiber, and sheep wool insulation. These materials support moisture regulation while achieving airtightness targets that contribute to thermal stability. Energy use is significantly reduced by the integration of a mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) system, an air source heat pump, and underfloor heating. These measures eliminate fossil fuel reliance and, combined with improved daylighting and spatial zoning, bring the operational carbon down by 68%.

The rear extension is a built example of circular thinking in residential design. Constructed entirely from the U-Build system, it is intended for future disassembly and reuse. This strategy keeps embodied carbon low and aligns with the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) targets for sustainable building. The self-build process also played a meaningful role in the project’s outcome. By taking part in the construction, the family gained a deeper sense of ownership while embedding adaptability into the home’s long-term lifecycle.

cork cladding and spruce plywood bring warmth and texture to the extension

‘The design was driven by the client’s desire to live in a functional, comfortable and uplifting home, while responding to the context and climate challenges of our moment,’ Studio Bark Director Tom Bennett says. ‘At Meadow Road, the generosity of the existing Victorian house is combined with modern construction techniques and technologies, breathing a new lease of life into this building.‘

the family built the extension themselves using Studio Bark’s U-build system

original architectural details were preserved and contrasted with natural materials

natural insulation materials improve breathability and thermal performance

project info:

name: Meadow House

architect: Studio Bark | @studiobark

location: Tunbridge Wells, England

photography: © Jim Stephenson | @clickclickjim

The post studio bark retrofits victorian-era ‘meadow house’ with cork and timber extension appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.