Courtyard House
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Keith Collie (website) Download Original
Modernist courtyard house characterised by planes of exposed structural concrete in combination with timber, glass and limestone
The two-storey family home is L-shaped in plan, creating a private courtyard. On the ground floor the principal spaces open on to the courtyard through storey-height glazing. The use of the same joinery timber inside and out, and the continuous limestone flooring which is polished inside and sanded outside help these rooms flow into the garden.
On the first floor the long landing corridor is top-lit, wide enough to be lined with shelving for the clients’ extensive book collection. A run of children’s bedrooms ends in an en-suite bedroom for the parents.
Although the walls generally comprise a double skin of fully exposed cast in situ concrete complete with thermal insulation, the two walls that face the courtyard are largely glazed, with windows at first floor level and glazed doors at ground floor level.
Like the walls, the ground floor, first floor and roof are concrete slab cast in situ. The glazing, set in robust hardwood frames, is screened with storey-high louvre shutters; which modify the quality of daylight entering the rooms, contribute to privacy and act as a visual contrast to the plain solidity of the concrete walls.
Data
- Begun: Nov 2001
- Completed: 2003
- Floor area: 239m2
- Sector: House
- Total cost: £534,200
- Tender date: Sep 2001
- Procurement: JCT Minor Works
- Address: Aberdeen Lane, London, N5 2EJ, United Kingdom
Professional Team
- Architect: Azman Owens Architects
- Client: Private
- Structural engineer: Eckersley O'Callaghan
- Concrete consultant: David Bennett Associates
- Main contractor: Varbud Construction Co
- Services engineer: Mendick Waring
- Landscape architect: del Buono-Gazerwitz
Suppliers
- Ready-mixed concrete: Hanson Pre-Mix
- Formwork: A-Plant Acrow
- Furniture: Davis Haworth Jacob
- Timber flooring: Ardern Hodges