As Architects our skill is the remodelling of spaces to make them more appropriate for the activities they contain. The transformation of this beach side property in Norfolk demonstrates this admirably. Within the existing “footprint” of the house the layout was completely rearranged. A generous entrance hall is created to take off wet sandy clothes, providing a sometimes much needed buffer from the harsh outdoors and giving a sense of grandeur to this otherwise modest house. The calm snug area with cherry panelling gives a touch of luxury reminiscent of ocean liners for winter evenings. The bedrooms accees through the hall feel a bit remote from the living area for sleeping or working if the house is full of visitors. The big open family room becomes the focal centre for chatting dining and relaxing. The outside of the house was considered in the same way with enclosed garden areas, paved dining areas and sheltered corners as a compliment to the grassy lawn with its open aspect to the sea. To stay within the very small budget all the materials had to be available at the local builders merchants. Used carefully with attention to detailing and setting out they created a simple house that is both quite austere and stylish and ideal for its purpose as a weekend retreat.
Conversion of flats back to a single dwelling and excavation and extension of lower ground floor
The project at Turret Grove not only reinstated the original house from 2 poorly divided and maintained flats, but also breathed new light into it. The lower ground floor was a warren of dark and damp rooms, it has been totally gutted and new structure imposed to allow for open planning, it has been extended/integrated into the garden as well and the overall effect is of a calm light filled and generous social space. The upper ground floor living area has seen the front and rear spaces reunified by a series of abstract interventions, which while strikingly modern in appearance add back the elegance previously denied to the spaces. Each of the bathrooms reveal unexpected surprises be it the double height shower in the lower ground floor or the installation-like travertine construction in the eaves of the first floor.
Date: 2005-2006
Floor area: 120m sq
Listed status: Conservation area
Conversion and extension of a one-bed house to provide a 4-bed house.
heostudio were initially invited to advise on the potential of converting the loftspace of this property for the clients who we had created a home for in London in 2004 and were considering this property for their move to Oxford. The house had a large roof, but an unusual structure of side to side parallel steel beams. The property overlooks the open county and has the hogs back hills in the background. It is a stunning view and one that heostudio were keen to exploit on the top pf the building. The space was ideally suited to conversion however the inflexibility of the steels made the planning of the staircase very difficult. Heostudio negotiated a relaxation of the building regulations for stairs to allow a steeper stair and avoid an alternating tread “ladder’ type stair. Once this principal was established it secured a fourth bedroom which clinched the move and allowed the clients to carry on and commission the refurbishment of the whole property. A rigorous rearrangement of all the internal elements of the house has allowed for a complex programme of storage areas, utility spaces kitchen and easily integrated and then shut off playroom to be incorporated while leaving clean empty and generous living spaces for the clients and their 3 children to inhabit.
The brief was for a small boutique hotel in an un-promising building on busy Hanger Lane. Whilst the external envelope had to be retained for planning reasons, the interior layout was remodelled to create 25 en-suite bedrooms. A lounge bar and conservatory were built on the ground floor incorporating a small kitchen and service and staff area. The entrance to the hotel has an elegant sequence of spaces with glass screens providing transparency whilst giving acoustic isolation from the traffic outside. The reception area/office is extremely compact incorporating a service hub for computer, sound, telephone, fire alarm and security systems as well as administrative functions.
Fed up with uninteresting and expensive off the peg furniture and restricted with space in some of the rooms the bedroom furniture was designed by Jane Opher for the hotel as modular elements combined in various ways to suit each room. The telephone, light, power and television were incorporated into the furniture which meant that once the layout was established all the services could be simply located by the tradesmen making coordination of all the rooms easier. To keep costs down, all the shower rooms are identical, quite a challenge given the layout of the existing house. The garden, which is large and secluded was designed with circulation and sitting areas. Planters and paving were used to screen the ground floor bedrooms, a lawn for marques and raised decking for out door dining. The hotel is a great success being fully booked months in advance. Despite the bumper-to-bumper traffic on Hanger Lane it feels calm, restful and elegant as soon as you walk through the front door. (see guardian review in publications section of this website)
Master plan and refurbishment of Grade II listed family home
heostudio were initially invited to advise on the potential of this large Grade II listed country house and in particular, find a solution to the lack of natural lighting in key areas of the building. A feasibility study was produced, including detailed research into the history of the property, its existing use patterns, and its relationship to the surrounding landscape. It was discovered that the building was a result of a variety of different periods and previous uses, with an original timber framed 17th Century farmhouse, fronted by a grand Regency addition for its time as a Rectory, and numerous 19th Century developments for its previous incarnation as a boarding school. Years of alterations meant that the flow of internal spaces was now severely compromised and a serious contrast to the open and elegant family home that the client desired.
A rearrangement of rooms was proposed, including relocating the kitchen to the other side of the house forming a large light filled dining and sitting area that makes best use of the stunning views over the landscaped gardens. And by ordering all the circulation space into the timber-framed core, a grand hallway now highlights the 18th Century staircase. With the approval of the Listed Building Authority, heostudio used soft juxtapositions of new and old details to compliment the eclectic mix of styles and periods that characterise this unique home.
Date: 2004-2005
Floor area: 300m sq
Listed status: Grade II
Projects
