01 · Challenge
More usable attic space without affecting the streetscape
The occupant of a 1930s terraced house in Haarlem had an attic with an asymmetric pitched roof: the ridge was positioned at two-thirds of the house depth, making the rear part of the attic too low to be usable. The wish was to relocate the ridge to the rear facade so that the entire roof plane would have usable standing height. The street profile was not allowed to change: the front facade and the front half of the roof had to remain identical to the neighbours.
02 · Our approach
New roof structure, appearance unchanged
We designed a new roof structure in which the ridge was relocated from the centre to the rear facade. The front elevation remained identical to the neighbouring properties: the same roof pitch, the same eave line. At the rear, a new, steep roof plane was created. The purlins, ridge beam and roof trusses were fully recalculated. The building permit application was submitted to the municipality of Haarlem. Because the front facade remained unchanged, the aesthetic review was limited.
03 · Result
12 m² extra attic space, permit in 7 weeks
The building permit was granted within 7 weeks. The carpenter could get started immediately with the construction-ready roof details. The attic gained 12 m² of usable living space at full standing height. The owners furnished the attic as an additional bedroom. Nothing has changed at the front: the terrace row looks exactly as it always did. At the rear, the new, steeper eave line is clearly visible but falls entirely outside the aesthetic review requirements.