Floating in space

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The two bathrooms in this home sit inside a two-storey, central light well, along with a suspended staircase

The view through the doorway of a basin architecture, bathroom, ceiling, daylighting, floor, glass, interior design, room, sink, gray — The view through the doorway of a basin area of a bathroom

The exterior of a bathroom showing the stairs glass, handrail, stairs, steel, structure, white, black, gray

The detail of twin basins of a contemporary architecture, daylighting, floor, furniture, glass, interior design, table, window, wood, white, black

Bathrooms in terrace houses often lack natural light and ventilation.

Faced with this scenario, architect Dale Jones-Evans sunk a huge light well through the centre of this terrace home. This space also contains the staircase and two new bathrooms, which are stacked one above the other facing into the light well.

Two translucent, white laminated glass walls draw light from the well, filtering light into the bathrooms by day. At night, artificial light from the rest of the house shines in.

In return, the lights in the bathrooms ensure the container glows like a huge lantern, feeding light back into the atrium's stairway, says the architect.

"The translucent walls make both bathrooms feel light and spacious, as if there is no boundary between them and the outside atrium."

The two external walls of the bathrooms are solid and conceal plumbing for the toilet, showers and bath. Tiled with translucent white glass mosaics, the walls are reflective.