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GRAND DESIGNS: TRADE SECRETS
The Decagon House, Oxford
In this week’s episode of Trade Secrets, we tackle the issues raised in Henry’s copper-roofed, Moroccan-inspired Grand Design. From inspiration behind the project to choosing the right building materials, no stone is left unturned in Trade Secrets’ deconstruction of the Oxford Grand Design.
If you’ve found the plot of your dreams but its an odd or difficult shape, don’t give up. There are lots of clever ways you can tackle what might seem like an impossible piece of land. Take Henry’s Grand Design in Oxford. His difficult site pushed him to create something very special.
This property in Islington is a perfect example of resourceful and imaginative design making the most of a challenging plot. A small triangular shaped piece of land sandwiched beside a warehouse and practically invisible from the road, this plot presented some major problems. It’s triangular and yet the end result is this incredibly spacious, light-filled four-bedroom luxury home.
Given such a dense site getting as much natural light into the property was always going to be a challenge so the architects came up with lots of clever ideas, the fundamental one being a central light well which allows daylight to flood through all three floors.
Any site is only as good as the architect. This site is only eight feet wide, but narrow doesn’t necessarily mean slim pickings. To amplify the amount of daylight coming into the house the architect installed a skylight above the staircase but then ingeniously stepped the structure away from its surrounding shafts so that light floods in through the middle and around the sides.
The main house is so small that each floor accommodates just a single room. Except on the ground floor where the living space spreads out into what was once part of the neighbour’s garden. You’re more likely to get planning permission for this sort of infill if your building takes inspiration from the buildings surrounding it. Luke focused on mimicking the shape and proportions of other windows on the street.
Plot size isn’t the only restricting factor when you are trying to build your dream. Sometimes you have to work with a building that’s already there. Architect Laurie Chetwood is actually better known for designing commercial buildings but on his own home he gave himself an entirely free reign. Unable to build from scratch he’s actually added to pre-war prefab and he’s proved that your only real limitation is your own imagination.
The inspiration came from an ecological study done before Laurie bought the house which seemed to suggest there were plenty of habitats around the place to suit butterflies. He boldly decided to use that as the metaphor for the design of the house, with striking results.
