Hasta La Ideas

This wooden folly cantilevers across a garden lake to create a meditation room and children’s play den for a family living in Hampshire, England (+ slideshow).

Nestled amongst the trees at the water’s edge, The Forest Pond House is the first built project by London studio TDO and has a curved body constructed using sheets of plywood and copper.

The architects combined two concepts for the design of the structure. “The children’s den programme was about hiding and playing in the woods, and the meditation programme was about focus, relaxation and immersion in the environment,” architect Tom Lewith told Dezeen.

A glazed end wall frames a view out across the surface of the pond and the floor staggers down to create a window seat for one or two people.

Lewith explained: “Cantilevering over the pond was important to us, as we wanted the space to physically straddle the forest and pond in the same way we crossed over the two programmes. We saw the forest being dark, mysterious and busy – a place for kids to have fun. The pond we saw as more about meditation with its reflection and calm.”

The ceiling angles upwards above the window seat, exaggerating the contrast in proportions between the front and rear of the folly.

On the exterior, one wall is coated with blackboard paint to encourage children to draw pictures straight onto the building.

Tom Lewith launched TDO in 2010 alongside fellow graduates Doug Hodgson and Owen Jones. The Forest Pond House was one of 24 projects nominated for the AJ Small Projects Awards 2013.

Other follies completed in recent months include a wooden playhouse with folding window hatches and a wedge-shaped pavilion with a pool of water inside.

Photography is by Ben Blossom.

Here’s some more information from TDO:

Located in rural Hampshire, The Forest Pond House is both a space for meditation and a children’s den in the woods. Made from timber, glass and copper, it lies on the bank of a pond at the foot of a family garden.

The Forest Pond House encapsulates the ethos of TDO’s founders. Their architecture is joyful and inventive. Their buildings complement their surroundings. For them, the way in which people experience a building is paramount.

Above: site plan – click above for larger image

Three alumni of London’s Bartlett School of Architecture and Royal College of Art formed TDO Architecture in 2010. The Forest Pond House was built over nine months for £7,500 and is their first completed building.

Above: floor plan – click above for larger image

The Pond House combines contrasting surroundings and contrasting uses to striking effect. It nestles between the dark drama of the forest and the bright calm of the water. Black, angular sides address the forest; light, curved surfaces and sheet glass address the pond. As well as mirroring the Pond House’s environment, the design creates its dual functions. The dark elevations serve as blackboards for drawing in the woods. A rising floor shrinks one corner down to the size of a child. The brighter end of the Pond House, with its single source of light and bench looking onto the water, offers focus and a place for reflection.

Above: section – click above for larger image

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by TDO appeared first on Dezeen.

London studio alma-nac has staggered the floors of this extension to a 2.3 metre-wide terraced house in south London to help bring natural light in through a sloping roof.

The narrow house is located in the former stable access between two properties and suffered from poor natural light due a lack of outward-facing walls.

“With such a narrow and deep plan the existing building was claustrophobic,” alma-nac partner Tristan Wigfall told Dezeen. “The key driver in developing the proposal was ensuring that natural light was able to penetrate deep into the plan to create rooms that felt spacious and light.”

The architects extended the house at the rear, then added a gently sloping roof dotted with skylights to allow natural light to enter rooms on each storey. This addition allows space for a new ground floor dining area, an extra bedroom on the first floor and a study on the second floor.

Floors on the two upper storeys fold up to meet the new roof at a perpendicular angle. “One of the key aspects was cranking the floor plates so that the main rooms, orientated towards the southerly rear of the property, had increased head-heights and improved the outlook to the garden and sky,” said Wigfall.

Storage was a key consideration and the architects have added a new dressing room on the first floor, a loft above the top floor and even a cupboard behind the head of the bed.

Slate tiles clad the walls and roof of the extension. “We liked the idea of the material continuing from the slope of the roof on to the vertical rear facade,” added the architect.

An oak-framed door punctures the slate surface and leads out from the dining area to the garden.

Other recently completed house extensions in London include a house with a wall of books and an orangery with an oak-screened staircase. See more residential extensions on Dezeen.

Photography is by Richard Chivers.

Here’s some more information from alma-nac:

Alma-nac were approached by a young couple in order to investigate the possibilities for extending and enhancing an existing terraced house on the busy high street of St John’s Hill, Clapham, London.

The uniquely narrow property, measuring just 2.3m internally throughout, presented certain challenges in reorganising the spaces. This was coupled with a strict budget within which to work; the property had been re-valued since the original purchase and the bank loan was based on the difference of the increased value.

It is understood that the location of the property was the original stable access to the rear of the high street. The resulting narrow proportions meant that the centre of the house was dark and gloomy. The building was laid out over three floors with cramped bedrooms facing on to the noisy high street and small sash windows of the study and bathroom to the south facing rear. At ground level the entrance lobby doubled up as a dining room and a piecemeal existing rear extension gave limited access to the garden through the kitchen.

The neighbouring property, an art gallery and studio at ground level and apartment above, had extended almost to the full depth of the plot with a terraced rear facade. An immediate response might have been to continue this form with a series of terraces forming the new rear facade. However, the complexity of constructing multiple terraces and roofs meant that this option was deemed prohibitively expensive as well as proving problematic in terms of bringing light into the centre of the plan.

A response to this was to form a continuous slate-clad sloped roof creating a simple and easily understood construction method. This material treatment is continued on the rear facade and reflected in the slate shingle ground cover of the rear garden.

In order to enhance the sense of space within the newly formed rooms the floor plates at each level were cranked, allowing an increased floor to ceiling height and encouraging light to penetrate deep in to the plan. A light-well was formed over the central stair by opening up the ceiling to the sloped roof. This allows natural light to flood deep in to the plan at first and second floor levels and provides a natural stack effect when the rooflights are opened. The brick flank walls are left exposed at the top of the stairwell to convey the original building roof shape.

A key consideration was storage space and every corner of the property has been utilised, from the bed-head with integrated storage, loft space over the top bedroom and compact bathroom layouts. The elongated form of the main bedroom at first floor level allowed for the creation of a dressing room area so that the bedroom space remains uncluttered of furniture. The design of the roof build-up ensured the minimum depth (250mm) in order to maximise the space internally and achieving a high U-value (0.14 W/m2K).

The staggered window pattern on the rear elevation plays with the scale. The rooflights are organised to allow views through to the exterior along the corridor side and to illuminate the top section of the sloped ceiling.

Architect: Alma-nac Collaborative Architecture
Design team: Tristan Wigfall, Alice Aldrin-Schrepfer
Contractor: McGovern Carpentry & Design
Interior Styling: Nina Wigfall Interior Design
Structural Engineer: Train and Kemp
Party Wall Surveyor: John D Shafee & Co
Building Control: NHBC

Above: site plan

Above: exploded axonometric diagram – click for larger image

Above: plans (ground, first, second, roof) – click for larger image and key

Above: long section – click for larger image and key

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by alma-nac appeared first on Dezeen.

London firm Alison Brooks Architects used dark-stained timber and sloping rooftops to reinterpret the rural architecture of Essex for this suburban housing development (+ slideshow).

Entitled South Chase, the 84-residence development is the first phase in the construction of a new neighbourhood on the eastern edge of the town of Harlow and it accommodates a variety of housing typologies.

Apartment blocks and stand-alone houses mark the corners and end-plots of four new streets, while rows of terraced houses and courtyard houses are arranged in rows between.

Describing the goals of the development, Alison Brooks told Dezeen she wanted to create “a completely new and more sustainable suburban housing typology where open-plan flexible houses are integrated with outdoor spaces to increase the sense of space and light”.

Above: courtyard houses

The architect also emphasised the importance of creating “dedicated working spaces” in each house, adapting to the growing number of people who work from home and “helping to create an economically active suburb”. In line with this, each house comes with an accessible loft that can be converted into an office and the larger houses also include a ground-floor study that doubles up as a spare bedroom.

There are 50 houses on the site in total: 14 stand-alone houses, 29 courtyard houses and 7 terraced houses. The T-shaped courtyard houses are designed to offer a new standard in UK housing, with a dense format that makes room for terraces at both ground and first floor levels. Meanwhile, the terraced houses include south-facing front gardens and the L-shaped stand-alone houses have both rear gardens and driveways.

The five accompanying apartment blocks each contain between six and eight homes and are positioned to maximise views.

All buildings feature a prefabricated timber construction, with a materials palette of sandy brickwork, black-stained larch and slate roof tiles.

Alison Brooks Architects designed the masterplan in collaboration with urban designers Studio REAL.

Above: terraced houses

Brooks founded her studio in 1996 and has since won the Manser Medal for the timber-clad Salt House and was part of Stirling-Prize winning team that worked on the Accordia housing development. Other recent projects include a tapered house extension in north London.

Above: stand-alone houses

See more new stories about housing design, including projects by Peter Barber and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

Above: apartment blocks

Photography is by Paul Riddle.

Here’s some more information from Alison Brooks Architects:

Newhall South Chase Lot 3

This 84-unit scheme for Linden Homes will complete South Chase, Phase 1 of the award- winning Newhall development in Harlow, Essex. ABA’s approach integrates a mix of new and familiar house typologies, prefabricated timber construction and a highly efficient masterplan to maximize living space and flexibility for individual homes. The scheme’s geometric and material consistency was inspired by the powerful roof forms and simple materials of Essex’s rural buildings. ABA has utilised these geometries to bring light into terraced courtyard houses, allow rooms in the roof, permit oblique views to the landscape beyond the site, and to introduce a sculptural rhythm to the scheme’s streetscapes.

The development consists of 84 units across four building types; 5 Apartment buildings containing 6,7 or 8 flats each; 14 Villas; 29 Courtyard Houses and 7 Terraced Houses totalling 84 units, 26% of which are affordable.

Masterplan

ABA’s masterplan was developed in conjunction with Studio REAL and responds to the site’s Design Code as well as Lot 3’s prominent corner location on the South Chase site. Larger scale apartment buildings hold important corner locations to both define north-south streets and frame views to the wider countryside and beyond. 126sm villas line the north south streets and act as bookends to the more densely configured courtyard houses of the east-west lanes.

All housing types incorporate covered front porches; central stair halls; roof terraces; Juliette balconies and cathedral ceilings. Loft spaces either finished as bedrooms or can be retrofitted by homebuyers as workspaces, additional bedrooms or games rooms. Villas and Courtyard houses all have a ground-floor study – ABA consider this additional room as essential for accommodating the electronic media and home working lifestyles of the 21C.

Materials

A simple palette of materials – FSC-rated, pressure treated Siberian Larch with a non-toxic water-based stain; Welsh slates; recessed gutters; Protec Composite Windows and simple steel railings allow the subtly angled surfaces and overall scheme geometries to be clearly expressed. Ground floor porcelain tiled floors on a beam and block substructure provide thermal mass for underfloor and passive solar heating.

Courtyard Houses – A New Model for UK Housing

The courtyard houses are a radical reconfiguration of typical long and narrow 5m x 20m terraced house plot to a 9.5mx10.5m plot. This square plot permits a very wide house footprint, T-shaped with courtyard spaces or ‘outdoor rooms’ that interlock with kitchen/dining and living rooms. A covered front porch creates a important semi-public threshold between the house front door and the street’s shared surfaces. Inside, a very generous central hall creates a sense of spaciousness; we consider front halls as important/functional as any other room in the house.

A large 1st floor roof terrace above the kitchen in effect lifts the garden to gain more hours of sunlight. Master bedrooms have cathedral ceilings that follow the roof line, and the 3 bed versions of the house have a generous loft bedroom.

Above: aerial masterplan

Villas

The villas are two-storey, L-shaped in plan to provide a front parking court that also maximizes south facing orientation and views to the street/landscape beyond. Covered front porches with balconies give the houses an open and inviting street presence. Front ‘outriggers’ contain the study and bedroom above. This and the master bedroom have sloped ceilings that reflect the exterior geometry of the roofs. Central entrance halls lead to an open plan living, kitchen and family room and the study that can double as guest bedroom. Large expanses of glazing that lead onto timber decks draw the garden into the house and create a sense of informal spaciousness. Solar hot water panels are standard on the villas and courtyard houses apartments.

Above: courtyard house plans – click above for larger image 

The Terraced Houses – Affordable

The seven terraced houses, of 90sm and 115sm, are set back on their plots to provide south-facing front gardens. Each end of the terrace pulled forward to create and enclosed ‘courtyard- like’ street. The terraces follow the scheme’s principles of central hall, open plan living/dining and generous bedrooms, with a convertible loft space and cathedral ceilings in 1st floor bedrooms. Each house has 5.4 sm of Photovoltaic roof tiling.

Above: courtyard house section – click above for larger image 

The Apartments

Five apartment blocks form important urban markers at street junctions, and act as gateways to the development. Each block’s slightly angled geometries give the facades a directionality that responds to their orientation, views, and integrates their larger massing with the highly articulated masses and angled roofs of the adjacent houses. Upper floors clad in brick cantilever over the main entrances to provide a sheltered porch – these are expressed as timber clad ‘cuts’ in the brick volumes. Flats all have generous terraces, French doors and Juliette balconies, all of which increase the sense of space, maximize natural light and provide wonderful views for both affordable and for sale apartments.

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Alison Brooks Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

London firm Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has completed NEO Bankside, a set of six-sided apartment blocks beside the Tate Modern art gallery on the edge of the River Thames.

Like the Centre Pompidou and many other buildings designed by studio founder Richard Rogers, the four towers feature external bracing systems that form a steel diagrid across the facades.

These supports carry the weight of each structure, preventing the need for load-bearing walls inside the building and in turn allowing flexible layouts on different floors.

“A key feature is the external bracing, which allows a fantastic amount of flexibility inside the apartments,” explained Graham Stirk. “All the walls internally are non-structural, which means we have been able to open up the floor-to-ceiling space much higher than in a conventional apartment. That has enabled us to maximise daylight and the views.”

The towers range from 12 to 24 storeys in height and all four feature balconies on the north and south elevations.

“The four pavilions make up a family of buildings, a series of four towers of different heights bound by a very strong three-dimensional geometry,” said Stirk.

The exposed steel structure is also intended as a nod to the industrial heritage of the area, which was once home to a large oil-fired power station (now Tate Modern).

Behind the braces, the walls feature a grid of glass and timber panels that are strategically positioned to give floor-to-ceiling windows to the living rooms and bedrooms of the apartments contained inside.

Above: 3D diagram

Glazed lift towers are also placed on the outside of the structure and rise up the west facades. “Everyone can move through generous lobby spaces and enjoy the ride and the river views in the glazed external lifts going up to their apartment. There’s something really quite nice about that,” added Stirk.

Above: concept diagram one – routes north to south

The development provides 217 apartments in total and and is surrounded by gardens and pathways designed by landscape architects Gillespies.

Above: concept diagram two – diagonal views

Richard Rogers Partnership became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007 and has since completed the Stirling Prize-winning Maggie’s Centre for cancer care and the Bodegas Protos winery in Peñafiel, Spain.

Above: concept diagram three – elevator locations

Above: typical floor plan

See all our stories about Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners »

Photography is by Edmund Sumner.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

NEO Bankside

NEO Bankside comprises 217 residential units in four hexagonal pavilions ranging from 12 to 24 storeys and a six-storey office block, located next to the Tate Modern, one of the most visited museums in the world.

All the buildings of the scheme take their cues from the immediate context and it is the quality of the entire ensemble – rather than the individual parts – which creates drama.

The overall design hints at the former industrial heritage of the area during the 19th and 20th centuries, responding in a contemporary language which reinterprets the colouration and materials of the local architectural character. The steel and glass pavilions fit perfectly into the Bankside landscape; oxide reds of the Winter Gardens echo those of Tate Modern and nearby Blackfriars Bridge, while the exterior’s timber clad panels and window louvres give the building a warm, residential feeling. The pavilions’ distinctive external bracing system has removed the need for internal structural walls and created highly flexible spaces inside the apartments. The bracing is located outside of the cladding plane allowing it to be expressed as the distinct and legible system which gives the scheme much of its charismatic language. Glazed lift towers provide all occupants great views of London and the river, and a dynamic expression of the vertical circulation on the eastern side of each building. Winter gardens are enclosed, single-glazed balconies at the north and south ends of each building, suspended from the main structure on a lightweight deck with large sliding screens. They act both as enclosed terraces and additions to the interior living space.

A generous public realm is also created at ground level with landscaped groves defining two clear public routes through the site connecting the riverside gardens outside Tate Modern through to Southwark Street. The permeability through the site was a key driver of the design and the imaginative arrangement of the pavilions provides residents with generous accommodation and maximum daylight.

Landscape designers Gillespies has created a series of richly-detailed garden spaces around the footprint of the apartment pavilions. The final landscape features soft planting inspired by native woodlands, balancing beautifully with the contemporary lines of the buildings. Unusually in the heart of a city, the outdoor spaces offer NEO Bankside’s residents opportunities to engage with nature, and create a new micro-ecological environment in this established urban setting. The elegant and peaceful landscaped gardens integrate NEO Bankside with the neighbouring Tate Modern and its surroundings, and provide public access during the day as well as a secure, private environment for residents to enjoy.

Gillespies’ landscape design was developed to provide optimum private residents’ gardens, while separating them distinctly from the public routes. An innovative landscape strategy was introduced from the outset to define the threshold between private and publically-accessible spaces. This definition has been achieved through the use of richly-planted berms, pebble-lined moats, stone-lined cuttings and narrow walkways that combine to create a strong sense of identity for the site. The long planted berms are a recurring signature that channel north/ south movement and act as a threshold between private and public space, dissected by a network of residents’ pathways. The berms also complement Tate Modern’s landscape, binding this site into its wider context.

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Harbour + Partners appeared first on Dezeen.

London-based studio Alex Cochrane Architects added a timber balcony and an open-plan interior to this Victorian boathouse in a deer park in the south of England.

Overlooking a lake in Great Windsor Park, Berkshire, the boathouse was once the royal boat keeper’s lodgings but now operates as a writer’s retreat.

Alex Cochrane Architects stripped out the interior of the building but retained its A-frame timber beams, which had to be sandblasted due to damage from nesting birds.

Large casement windows have been added to the southwest elevation, while folding doors open onto the new balcony. Roundel windows also allow light to reach the exposed roof structure.

“We wanted to open up the two gable elevations to daylight and views without changing too greatly the historical appearance of the boathouse and its internal timber structure,” Cochrane told Dezeen.

“We also wanted to include a cantilevered balcony that would ‘float’ over the lake, and in doing so had to tie back a series of steel beams to the original framework positioned in the centre of the boathouse,” he added. “This was a complicated exercise given the fragility of the existing structure.”

The entrance to the boathouse leads into the kitchen and living area, which also contains a built-in sofa and desk under the window.

The shower, toilet and dressing areas are placed in the centre of building and divided by sliding doors and mirrors, while the bedroom at the far end leads to the balcony overlooking the lake.

A low-level joinery unit runs the length of the building, serving as a bookshelf and reclined seating, with a dressing table incorporated at the bedroom end.

Oak veneer panels have been used throughout the interior, including the kitchen units and bed as well as the walls and doors of the bathroom.

A ground source heat pump from the lake supplies the heating coils beneath the Douglas fir floorboards.

We recently reported on Alex Cochrane Architects’ redesign of the menswear department of Selfridges in London.

We’ve also featured a boathouse in Norway with folding flaps in its facade and another in Texas with a waterfall cascading from its upper storey.

See all our stories about boathouses »
See all our stories about British houses »

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Alex Cochrane Architects were offered the opportunity to design and oversee the comprehensive restoration and remodelling of a Victorian Boathouse overlooking the lake of Virginia Water in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.

The top floor of The Boathouse, once the Royal Boat Keeper’s lodgings, now serves as a spectacular all-inclusive retreat taking advantage of one of the most outstanding settings of the south east of England. The ground floor maintains its purpose of housing boats with two large timber doors opening outwards onto the lake.

Proposal:

It seemed appropriate that The Boathouse, an independent but redundant structure, set in isolation on the banks of a lake and surrounded by unparalleled natural beauty, should be revived as an ultimate place of refuge, inspiration and reflection away from the demands of city life.

ACA proposed a number of extensive changes to the structure. These included the substantial opening up of the two end elevations with new and larger windows, the addition of a new timber balcony that would ‘float’ directly over the lake and the complete stripping out of an obsolete interior for a contemporary open plan arrangement of three interlocking ‘living’ zones. In addition, we were able to deliver an environmentally sustainable approach towards the heating of The Boathouse.

Architecture / Main works:

The interior fabric was completely stripped out revealing a surprisingly sound A-frame structure that until then had been hidden from view. Years of neglect and nesting birds had nevertheless taken their toll requiring the A-frames to be sandblasted exposing the true warmth and texture of the wood. These repetitive structures now serve as key historical and functional elements of the design.

The two white painted timber boarded end elevations were extensively opened up to allow light to penetrate the darkest areas of the Boathouse while ensuring a more transparent relationship between the interior and its natural setting. Larger period style casement windows were added on the southwest elevation and new period style folding doors now open wide onto the new cantilevered balcony.

Roundel windows were added at both end elevations providing for further light at ridge level while celebrating the newly exposed roof structure and elevated heights.

Altering of the external appearance had to be very measured. Surprisingly the structure was not listed, but any unsympathetic alterations to its original form would risk reversing years of history, royal associations and familiarity for those using the park. Any contemporary design solutions would be reserved for The Boathouse interior.

All the casement windows, doors and their respective frames were replaced along the long elevations due to rot and worm. A conservationist approach was adopted for any existing element that needed replacing in order to maintain the period appearance of the Boathouse within its natural setting.

The floor structure was far from level and inadequate to support the proposed interior elements and the cantilevered structure supporting the balcony so there was little alternative but to replace the joists in their entirety with new ones.

There was no local supply of gas but Virginia Water Lake presented itself as a fine opportunity to provide constant heat throughout the year by way of a ground source heat pump. The Crown Estate were in full support for this ecological approach of laying 300m of ground loops 2m deep on the lake bed. The heat generated from the lake would supply the under floor heating coils beneath solid timber flooring.

Additionally, the removal of all the internal linings allowed for high levels of insulation to wrap around the perimeter walls, roof structure and between the floor joists increasing the sustainability credentials of the refurbishment.

Fit-out / Arrangement:

The interior is divided into three open zones providing the essential means that one might wish for in everyday life such as sleeping, reading, bathing, resting, working and eating.

A multi purpose low-level joinery unit runs the full length of The Boathouse connecting these three zones. This joinery unit predominantly serves as a library while two upholstered reclining benches are advantageously integrated below the windowsills and a vanity desk is incorporated at bedroom end of The Boathouse.

Upon entering The Boathouse one arrives in the cooking, eating, writing and seating area. This zone remains open plan with a degree of flexibility allowing the various activities to take their course. A large low-level table provides a central location where these activities can merge.

The middle zone is further divided into a series of interlocking but ultimately separate spaces including the shower, changing, loo and vanity areas. The design allows for a dynamic relationship between all four parts while addressing the conflicting attributes of privacy and transparency in the form of concealed sliding doors and mirrors.

The third zone is the resting and sleeping area where a large bed lies at the center, looking out over the cantilevered balcony and onto the lake. When the folding glass doors are open, one absorbs the unsurpassed views of Virginia Water and Windsor Great Park. It is here that the romanticism of The Boathouse interior and its relationship within its natural setting is most profound.

Materials:

The Boathouse design was very much material led. Contemporary design solutions were incorporated within the project and building process but traditional and natural materials were preferred. The goal was to offer a warmer atmosphere that might be expected in a retreat of a former age. It was also essential that the pallet of materials remained restrained to underline the clarity and simplicity of the interior elements and the spaces.

Straight-grained oak veneered panels were generally the material of choice with full-size honed Carrara marble slabs introduced in the shower area as well as for the kitchen and vanity surfaces. Dinesen Douglas floorboards were chosen due to their solidity, long lengths, wide widths and a livelier grain that would be the perfect complementary material against the more uniformed grain of the oak joinery units.

In keeping with the minimalist aesthetic, honed Basalt hearths provided an earthy colour and depth to two fireplaces that are otherwise without any decorative detail. Mirrors line the tall cupboard doors and sliding vanity panel serving a practical purpose as their reflections playfully confuse the arrangements of certain parts of the interior. Great attention was given to even the smallest of components. Bespoke solutions were provided for door handles, lighting, switches and even the toilet flush.

Very fine detailing and precision in the fabrication process were key in defining the purity and quiet sophistication of the interior elements. In order to achieve such an acute level of precision, the joinery and fabricated elements were constructed in workshops and later assembled on site.

Furniture & Lighting:

Nearly all the furniture is bespoke and integral to the design of The Boathouse interior. Two chaise long sofas come together to form a large bed, the reclining seats below the windowsills appear to be carved out of the bookshelf unit, the main seating area returns to form a writing desk and a very large low level table serves a number of functions: it can be an eating or entertaining surface or a platform for books and objects.

A number of free-standing chairs inhabit the interior including Gio Ponti’s Super Leggera, Norman Cherner’s plywood chairs and the Hans Wagner CH25 all preferred for their pared down aesthetic.
Erco track lighting provides directive light from high level, cage lights with bronze bulb holders are suspended above the low-level joinery table and a gold plated Ball Light by Michael Anastassiades hovers above the changing area bench.

Objects and Art:

In line with a less-is-more approach and where emptiness is actually celebrated, the selection of artwork has been purposely limited. A seascape photograph entitled Hurricane by Clifford Ross is appropriately positioned above the bed and facing the lake while William Peers’ sculptures from his 100 Days and Flow series inhabit parts of The Boathouse.

All accessories have been chosen to serve a practical purpose whether it be Andrew Bird’s log baskets from Great Yarmouth, Liam O’Neill turned wood bowls from Co. Galway or Fiamma Montagu’s ceramic tableware and vases.

Project Team, Suppliers and Contributors
Client: Galewest Investments
Architects: Alex Cochrane Architects, London
Project Management: Clinton Cowley for Galewest Investments, Berkshire
Main Contractor: Robert’s Building Company, Surrey
Joinery: John Baulkwill for Opus Magnum, London
Stonework: David Jones for Verona Marble, Kingston
Floorer: Peter Moyces for Cavendish Floors, Chiswick
Sculptures: William Peers, Devon
Ceramics / Tableware: Fiamma Montagu, Oxfordshire
Tatami mats: Wabi Sabi, West Sussex
Freestanding Furniture: Supplied by Aram, London.
Lighting: Ball Light by Michael Anastassiades, Sigmar, London Filament lighting and accessories, Urban Cottage Industries Track lighting, Erco, London

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by Alex Cochrane Architects appeared first on Dezeen.