Converting a Napoleonic defense tower built in 1808 into a 21st Century private residence was a demanding brief. As a 'Scheduled Monument' on the 'At Risk' register and located in an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty', the planning negotiations were matched in complexity by the on-site logistics and servicing strategy.
Built in 1808 the tower had fallen into disrepair over the last century. Cam-shaped on plan, with 3m thick vaulted masonry walls, the only entrance is on the first floor of the building and the ground floor is completely windowless. Strategically the intention was to clearly differentiate the old and the new, avoiding pastiche, with the contemporary insertions touching the original fabric as lightly as possible, allowing the heavily textured masonry to be the star.
The conversion is conceived as a progression from dramatically shadowed spaces in the vaulted interior up to the unfettered views and lightness of the rooftop. The 3D curving roof, prefabricated off-site using computer generating cutting patterns, is tethered lightly to the existing fabric using only five steel struts and 3-dimensionally curving frameless glazing ensuring a clean and discrete separation between the old and the new and 360° views of the coastal landscape. Although the materiality of the roof juxtaposes the textured dark interiors below the geometry was entirely generated from the curves of the existing building.
The conversion is representative of a larger issue - the huge catalogue of British historical buildings lying vacant. Rather than see this tower fall into dereliction Piercy Conner Architects and Billings Jackson Design saved the tower by reincarnating it as a family home through a series of highly contemporary yet sensitive architectural interventions. In this way the principles of conservation go beyond preserving historical 'artefacts' in aspic and instead claim the opportunity to reinvent and recycle existing fabric.
A contemporary conversion heralded by English Heritage as an exemplar of how to convert historical buildings
Label: The Great Building
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Design architecture, modern architecture, house architecture, design interior, design exterior, house décor architecture, architect., minimalist architecture, apartment., structure building, architecture building, multistoried building, architecture plan,
Landscape, tower building, architecture American, architecture UK, architecture Australia, architecture classic, arcade, city town, architectural, natural concept, green house, lamp interior, roof concept, architecture books, architecture magazine, journal architecture, modern kitchen
3 komentar:
sito web Sweet, non mi ero imbattuto in un blog prima che nelle mie ricerche! Portare avanti il lavoro fantastico!
You’d believe together with the multi gazillion cash of investment that wikipedia could acquire some much more servers.
Finally, got what I was looking for!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it. Glad I stumbled into this article! smile I have you saved to check out new stuff you post..
Post a Comment