Richard Meier house
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Sleek über-Modernism distinguishes the US architect’s first house in the UK.
One of the ways in which Meier was able to convince local planning to approve his sleek, über-Modernist country house was by designing a building that, despite its elevated position, was only fleetingly visible from the tight, unpaved lane between old farm buildings on the valley floor, and was largely hidden from surrounding hills.
The pre-existing driveway winds up the west side of the hill and ends in a large courtyard. To the left is a strip of recreation behind white walls: guest house, walled tennis court and, above the huge garage, a swimming pool, which due to the slope, can also be accessed at grade from a wooded ridge above.
One accesses the building at mid-point through a simple door, and passes immediately through a band of private rooms arranged east to west: recreation room, office and gun room, which are all lined in wood.
The major materials are structural concrete, white exterior render, glass and aluminum curtain wall, stone pavers and interior hickory flooring.
The house’s primary structure comprises reinforced structural concrete for cantilevered roof slabs, floors and walls, and circular steel columns. Concrete was chosen for the allowable extensive spans, its longevity, and its thermal mass.
Special exterior lime render coated with white pigmented mineral paint over rigid foam-glass insulation provided seamless, crisp, pure white solid surfaces. Horizontal and vertical louvres animate the daylight and shadow cast on the façade throughout the day. Glass and white aluminium curtain wall, double height in some instances, provides expansive openings for daylight and views
The client’s interest in cutting-edge technology led to an exciting opportunity to develop an integrated energy solution for the site, comprising ground source heat pumps, solar hot water and photovoltaics and heat recovery ventilation.
Data
- Begun: Jun 2013
- Completed: Mar 2016
- Floor area: 954m2
- Sector: Residential
- Procurement: Traditional
- CO2 Emissions: 12kg/m2/year
- Address: Oxfordshire, OX10 6AG, United Kingdom
Professional Team
- Architect: Richard Meier & Partners Architects
- Project architects: Kevin B Baker, Richard Meier
- Client: Confidential
- Executive architect: Berman Guedes Stretton
- Structural engineer: Price & Myers
- M&E, lighting design and sustainability consultant: CBG Consultants
- Quantity surveyor: Gardiner & Theobald
- Client representative: CD Morris & Associates
- Landscape architect: Tom Stuart-Smith
- Renewable energy specialist: ISO Energy
- Planning consultant: Terence O’Rourke
- Consultancy project manager: Kevin B. Baker (Richard Meier & Partners Architects)
- Building inspector: Butler & Young
- Main contractor: Sizebreed Construction
- CAD software used: Microstation