This project involves the reworking of and additions to a Georgian house, which sits in a tight row of villas backing onto the River Warfe in the centre of Wetherby. The main focus of the additions is a new living room with large areas of retractable glazing which allow the internal space to crack open at the corner. The plan is a composition of layered planes which suggest rooms within rooms – a device borrowed from certain Arts and Crafts architects to achieve intimacy and grandeur. The new forms are extended into the garden in order to reinforce the connection between the house and its setting, in a tiered sequence of terraces and walls leading down to the river. In our view, it represents a form of contemporary architecture which draws inspiration from its context in an attempt to connect with the essence of the existing building. The project received a RIBA Award (2003).