36 PROJECT REPORT: SELFBUILD & CUSTOM BUILD PROJECTS
“I was always conscious of trying to bring the old house into the new”
Internal arrangement With great views to the north and west, glazing was maximised in this project, particularly for the living areas on the ground floor. The spaces here are organised in a simple, linear way around a central corridor that’s open to the living space and which forms a spine leading from the front door at one end to the stairs at the other. There is an uncovered car port to the west of the house, which, says Cashin, “could be converted to a further reception room later on.”
Interiors PROJECT FACTFILE
Architects: Design Engine (Stages 1-3) Delivery architect: Paul Cashin Architects (Stages 3-5) Contractor: Baker Newman Building Structural engineer: Gyoury Self Landscape designer: Andy McIndoe Building control/Code 4 assessors: Butler and Young Lighting designer: Intelligent Lighting Solutions
The open plan layout “supports modern living,” say Design Engine Architects, but it can also be “conceived of as a series of distinct zones.” Ascending the stairs, the rooms “increase in intimacy and privacy,” culminating in the first-floor master suite. The ground floor is split level due to the gradient, and up just a few steps of the staircase are the two ground floor ensuite bedrooms (one of which is currently being used as a home office). The staircase leads up the oriel window which has a view to the east, and two bedrooms with ensuites on the first floor. The split level helps add to the feeling of privacy, with the lower staircase marking a boundary between living and sleeping.
The property has bespoke joinery such as for the fireplace and bathrooms, and curtains, on silent tracks by Silent Gliss. Despite the fact that the property is not overlooked, the owners wanted some ability to control their interiors, and moderate heat loss. They also offer security benefits, says Cashin, “they can shut the whole house down when they are away travelling which they do a lot.” He is a firm advocate of bespoke curtains over blinds, as they are “much more luxurious,” and believes they are “coming back” as an option for contemporary properties. “Interior designers often like them, they keep reverberant sound down, stop heat escaping and wind coming in, and they can be quite pleasant to look at or hidden away in a pocket.”
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The glazing to the bathrooms is breathtaking in that it is completely clear, and floor to ceiling in the case of the master ensuite. Cashin: “Technically, it should be obscured, but there’s no one to look in!” There is the concession of some brise soleil to shield occupants of the freestanding bath from the road to the north west, otherwise there’s an uninterrupted view of the landscape. The precise details to the interior are perhaps most visible in the timber- treaded staircase, which has a recessed handrail plus a shadow gap, providing an unspoilt minimalist view up and down, and avoiding snagging clothes. There are no architraves around the full height doors, but shadow gaps instead. There is space between each riser and the treads are illuminated with soft LEDs to provide a low light to the space. “It took a lot of time to get right, and a lot of conversations with the builder, but they did a great job.”
The colours of the interior are a “yellowish white” which the client preferred, and which the architects were “slightly worried about,” but now “really like.” The ceilings are level throughout the spaces, so there are sharp lines, which the colour softens. The clients have provided their own, slightly quirky furniture, acquired from their global travels.
Conclusion
As well as achieving a decidedly modern building in an unspoilt rural landscape, the project is notable due to the trust placed in the architects by the client to have free rein, and the level of commitment to quality which repaid this trust. “If you had a client that was in any way controlling I don’t think it’d be anywhere near as good.” Cashin adds: “It was good they knew they didn’t know anything, them being honest about it was a real strength.” The collaboration between client, architect and contractor was “very open,” says Paul, “everyone worked in a very candid way. Projects can break down if people don’t trust each other.
Part of the reason Paul Cashin was very thankful for the mutual trust which characterised this project was that it was a very early one for his practice, and he had little track record with which to convince the clients. “I didn’t have any work to show them when we were appointed, everything else we had done hadn’t been at that level. So we had to rise to the challenge, and we just got stuck in.”
ADF DECEMBER 2020
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