Iceberg Housing: Creative Space Saving Innovation

An iceberg house is the name given to houses with basement extensions. They are called this because they share several characteristics with their namesake. Firstly, just like icebergs, there is often much more going on below the surface than can be seen above it. The rich (and often famous) have been known to extend their London properties by several floors to allow room for the essential space that they need to enable them to enjoy time with their family, i.e. subterranean swimming pools, rock climbing walls and even car parking spaces that they do not have room to install above ground and are prevented from creating room for by strict planning laws that do not allow upward extensions.

Iceberg Housing: Creative Space Saving Innovation

An iceberg house is one with a basement extension like this one.

How has the concept of Iceberg Housing Evolved?

In some cases these extensions have resulted in the property having more square footage below ground than above. For instance, Canadian TV tycoon David Graham’s underground four level extensions is twice the size of his actual house and will triple the size of the original property, at least according to the House Network. You may wonder, given the generous size of the property already, what on earth he is planning to do with all of the additional space. The answer is, of course, to add a ballroom, spa, servant’s quarter, twelve bedrooms, car parking spaces and an ‘art storage room’, and while some may scoff this adds invaluable space in cramped and restricted city regions.

The second thing they have in common with their namesake is although they are harmless in isolation they can cause untold damage and disruption to anything that comes within its path. In the case of iceberg houses this means major disruptions to both the lives and homes of those around them. This, it seems, is rather ironic given that their quest for more family room is inadvertently disrupting the family lives of their neighbors. This is because the actual excavation and renovation process, given the huge amounts of earth require thousands of skips to remove it and then the building work that follows can take years to undertake.

Let’s get your basement organized to be able to enjoy it!

Iceberg Housing: Is it a viable and Innovative Extension concept or an exercise in Greed?

As anyone that has had neighbors that have had building work carried out, or even local road works, the noise and disruption can have a huge impact on your everyday life. This, it seems, is often too much for the residents of affluent areas of London such as Knightsbridge and Kensington. The residents there have been issuing petitions against such renovations citing that the extensions are not in proportion to the houses and will cause building problems with their own properties.

Indeed, there does seem to be some truth in this. Renovations to one Kensington property led to subsidence and cracks appearing in the neighboring properties walls. This was so bad that it caused one lady to be trapped inside her apartment when the wall subsided to such an extent that she was unable to open her own front door. This, it would seem, is a disproportionate amount of disruption for what would be, when finished, only a playroom for the family’s children and a spare bedroom.

Despite this, it cannot be denied that iceberg developments have merit in the modern age, as they add space and depth to homes that exist in congested spaces. The issue seems to be with the extent of these developments, as some would seem to cross the narrow line between need and excess.

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