A 13,000 sq ft new-build modernist house, located within the Highgate Conservation Area and designed by architects SHH, has now started on site, with completion due in Summer 2012.

Courtesy SHH

The scheme, called 'Fitzroy Farm', is located on a 0.45 hectare site bordering Hampstead Heath and was approved by the Camden Planning Committee without a single objection, in spite of the site's chequered history. A previous scheme for a neo-classical mansion on the site (by a different architect and for a different owner) received planning permission, but was abandoned due to significant local opposition to the Construction Management Plan, with upwards of 3000 objections. The Construction Management Plan was refused by Camden Council and a subsequent appeal dismissed.

Courtesy SHH

Credit for obtaining implementable consent this time around must be shared with our client, who took the site on in full knowledge of its previous history, but with enough vision and conviction to resolve all previous issues, and also with planning consultants Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners, who did a sterling job in devising a wide-reaching strategy to win the support of local residents for the new design.

commented SHH  Chairman David Spence

At the Camden Planning Committee hearing, committee members from Camden Council called the new scheme 'a fabulous solution to a very difficult and sensitive site', as well as 'a super-sexy scheme we can't wait to see built.'

The Existing Site:

The existing site housed a detached property dating from the late 1920s in a neo-Tudor style, which has now been demolished. Surrounding properties are of different ages and of a wide variety of styles and designs.

When our client purchased the site', explained SHH Managing Director Graham Harris, he knew he had to get together a team which would have to work hard to redress local antagonism before planning permission was submitted.

SHH Managing Director Graham Harris

A multi-faceted strategy was undertaken to address this, including a PR campaign and liaison with various local organisations and societies. The single most important element of the strategy, however, was a new routing for site works to the rear of the property.

In fact Highgate is one of the most progressive areas in London with regard to new-build schemes, thanks not only to Camden Council but also to the influential Highgate Society. We knew that a more contemporary solution was likely to be better received, which was much more in tune with our design vision for the site.

commented David Spence

Site plan, drawing courtesy SHH

Brief and Design:

The client's brief to the architects was to demolish the existing property and to create in its place

'a spacious, contemporary family home of an exceptional architectural design quality, which will provide privacy, be in harmony with its surroundings and enhance the character of the Highgate Conservation Area.'

Ground floor plan, drawing courtesy SHH

The design scheme for 'Fitzroy Farm' shows a low-slung house, large in scale but appropriate for the size of the site. The main entrance is to the right side of the house, partially screened behind a freestanding 'statement' glass wall. Its partially-glazed and timber-clad exterior is translucent and respectful and designed to sit easily in its wooded environment, with the remaining vertical surfaces in stone and high-performance render. The property has been designed, at the client's behest, to maximise the movement of natural air around the interior in a stack effect, with the building management system allowing as much of the house as possible to open up on hot days.

Mezzanine floor plan, drawing courtesy SHH

The scheme is designed to stand over 2.5 floors (including a mezzanine), playing with scale via several double-height volumes, including an 8.5m entrance hall with a metal, wood and glass stair that rises through all three levels (ground, mezzanine and first). An additional lower ground floor houses a plant room and a children's playroom, illuminated by natural light from a rear lower courtyard.

The house is a mix of large, dramatic spaces for high-impact arrival and entertaining, as well as a number of smaller, more cosy and contained spaces for everyday family use.

commented David Spence

The principal ground floor rooms include a formal dining room; a central kitchen with lots of windows to keep the clients' children in sight; a formal living room incorporating a south-facing conservatory and a large family room with 4.5m-high south-facing doors, which open completely onto an outdoor colonnaded terrace. The terrace links up to an 18m x 5m inside/outside swimming pool (a rarity in the UK), which has a retractable glass and steel division (both for security and to retain heat), with the outside section shut down in Winter and the whole pool operating as one in the Summer months. A major design feature of the scheme is a curling stainless steel water chute, which runs directly down from the children's bedrooms on the left-hand side of the house to the pool and was inspired by artist Carsten Höller's slide installation in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. The chute curls out into the garden trees, with two sections exposed via a Perspex 'cockpit' upper tier to allow views of the garden, before returning, in solid steel format, directly into the swimming pool at ground floor level.

First floor plan, drawing courtesy SHH

Additional spaces above include a study; an art studio for the client's artist wife; a gym overlooking the pool and the bedroom suites: a master room on the mezzanine level with his'n'hers dressing rooms, sitting room and bathroom suite and three children's rooms on the first floor, all en suite and connected by a single outdoor terrace.

SHH – winners of the 'Best Eco House' Award in the 2010 International Architecture and Design Awards for its View Road house, also in North London – always seek to go beyond legal requirements for green technologies on new-build schemes and Fitzroy Farm is no exception. The scheme will use a ground source heat pump and 'slinkys', located beneath tennis courts at the front of the property (which will also be raised so that dislodged earth can stay on site), as well as photo-voltaic and solar panels on a green sedum curved roof to the rear of the property (designed to shield the neighbouring bowling club from views of the house). Where possible, original materials from the existing building, from bricks to oak beams to concrete slabs, have been incorporated into the new scheme, whether visible or built into the foundations, as both a principled commitment to recycling and a further way to diminish site traffic.

New planting around the house includes mature oak and sycamore trees, at the client's request, playing on the Englishness of the site, with the landscaping scheme created by long-time SHH collaborator and Chelsea Flower Show double-gold-medallist garden designer Kate Gould. Kate commented on the landscaping scheme that she has designed 'a garden to compliment the natural surroundings of the heath, with planting appropriate to the specific pH conditions of the site and locality. Planting has been selected for its natural feel, whilst any inappropriate existing planning has been carefully thinned, following liaison with an arboricultural specialist, so that the site has a much softer feel, providing a contrast to SHH's new, modern home'

Accommodation on the property also includes a smaller (existing but refurbished) house, screened by a wall, for a live-in husband and wife staff team.

+ About SHH:

RIBA chartered architectural practice SHH was set up in 1991 by its three principals: Chairman David Spence, Managing Director Graham Harris and Creative Director Neil Hogan. From inception, the majority of the company's work has been in the prime and super-prime residential market, creating design-led new-build and refurbished houses across London and, more recently, internationally, with live projects in Moscow, Baku, Tuscany and Lisbon. The 'Pilgrim's Lane' scheme in north London was an early high profile project and was shortlisted for the RIBA Manser Medal. The company has subsequently won or been shortlisted for over 70 design awards. The practice also has a strong interiors offer, both in the residential and the commercial arena, where it has recently completed the redesign of the two main hospitality spaces at the Barbican: Barbican Foodhall and Barbican Lounge – winners of three major awards so far in 2011.

www.shh.co.uk

+

Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners

www.nlpplanning.com

+ All images and drawings courtesy SHH

COoP Editorial, image courtesy Brooks + SCARPA | Photo by Marvin Rand

The design of this 4700 square foot tenant improvement evolved from the unique challenge to remodel an early 1963 Frank Gehry designed commercial structure located in the heart of downtown Santa Monica.

COoP Editorial, image courtesy Brooks + SCARPA | Photo by Marvin Rand

The client is a full service post-production facility based in Chicago. They provide every aspect of the TV commercial making process, including creative on and off line editing, film transfer, special, visual and audio effects.

COoP Editorial, image courtesy Brooks + SCARPA | Photo by Marvin Rand

Like much or our work, this project is a continuation of an ongoing inquiry. It is an ongoing research into materials and technologies as well as a re-examination of known conditions, accepted norms and established methods. This has lead us to an innovative solution and stimulating new way of approaching interior architecture. Without predefining archi¬tecture, we responded directly and intuitively to the material qualities of place.

COoP Editorial, image courtesy Brooks + SCARPA | Photo by Marvin Rand

The context and program for the production studio suggests an experience ordered like a film or freeway, framing and containing reality. The design engages the user, heightens their sense of awareness, and brings a deeper understanding and vitality to their experience.

+ Project facts

COoP Editorial
Santa Monica, California, USA

Client/Owner: Optimus Corporation
Total Square Footage: 4,700 sq. ft.
Costs: $410,000.00 ($87/sq. ft.)
Architects: Brooks + SCARPA
Location of Architect: 4611 W. Slauson Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90043
323-596-4700
www.brooksscarpa.com
hodgdon@brooksscarpa.com

Team members: Lawrence Scarpa, AIA – Principal- in-Charge. Peter Borrego, Angela Brooks, AIA, Silke Clemens, Michael Hannah, Vanessa Hardy, Anne Marie Burke, Ching Luk, Fredrik Niilsen, Tim Petersen, Gwynne Pugh, AIA, Bill Sarnecky, Lawrence Scarpa, Katrin Terstegen – Project Design Team.

Engineering: Gordon Polon
General Contractor: Hinerfeld Ward Inc.
Photography: Marvin Rand

+ All images and drawings courtesy Brooks + SCARPA

CityVision magazine is pleased to share with you the Issue #5. Out now!

The magazine introduces new special projects, interviews, columns and photo-issue collected during last four months.

Courtesy CityVision

Special Project

An editorial intro named Past Shock (pastshock.tumblr.com) collected quotes by important architecture protagonists to introduce the launch of New York CityVision Competition, the fourth international competition by CityVision.

Interviews

A conversation with Jules Coke, founding director of Londonise office Squint/Opera, the temporary architecture works of Ball+Nogues from Los Angeles, the inflatable architecture by Berlin based Plastique Fantastique, the young architecture brothers from New York, Leong Leong, the fashion/architecture of Nicola Formichetti and Asher Levine and a conversation with actor Valerio Mastandrea about its architecture worksite short film.

Columns

The issue #5 talks about connection between music and architecture with Straight to Hell and then Metropolitan Construction Site, artists as Evol and Carlos Amorales, Roman neighborhood such as Tor Pignattara and Garbatella and looks at the "right" hand of power strictly connected with architecture.

Sections

The Warsaw photoissue by architect and photographer Simone De Iacobis and the Notebook with Francesco Lipari's Colossario, plus our Waving, Paper Bastards and Fuckingood Agenda fixed sections.

Launch

The launch of CityVision magazine issue #5 was held at MACRO museum in Rome, last February 17th during the successfull event I Have Seen The Future (ihaveseenthefxxxxx.tumblr.com) with also a lecture of Jules Coke, director of Squint/Opera, the official launch of New York CityVision Competition and the announcement of PFFF – Inflatable Architecture Competition's winners (www.cityvision-competition.com/pfff/results)

To have your copy

Issue #5 will be distributed around Rome, Milan, Turin and Palermo or you can buy your copy on the website www.cityvision-mag.com/shop and browse it on the Issuu page: issuu.com/cityvisionmag.

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

Courtesy CityVision

WHITE Book Installation, image courtesy studio 400

+ Project Abstract

we wanted to create a continuous surface that would bring spatial interest and social interaction to the gallery. the woven installation is a solution to providing students and faculty a setting to not only read about our projects, but also to enjoy the space.

WHITE Book Installation, image courtesy studio 400

+ Project Description

"white" was a gallery installation produced by the 20 students of studio 400, a fifth-year architectural design studio at california polytechnic state university, san luis obispo. the installation, which served to present each of the student's research books, was designed, developed, fabricated, and installed by the studio in a collaborative effort. the students developed the design over a period of about a month, with fabrication and installation occurring over a five day period. 80,000 square feet of plastic sheeting was sliced, loomed, woven, stapled, taped and tied to provide a climbable and malleable surface in the 4,500 square foot gallery. "white" supported a variety of interactive experiences above and below this dynamic surface, opening and exploring the relationships between book, user, material, space, and collective group.

design intent

the installation design began with a brainstorming session that involved direct participation by each of the studio's 20 students. after proposals were presented, it was decided that a climbable surface would divide the space, providing seating for the comfortable reading of the books. an exploration of materials looked at rope, tape, and plastic to create the surface; sheet plastic was ultimately chosen for its flexibility and strength, economic viability given the large space, and its abilities to be easily modified and reused. once the material was chosen and acquired, studies of traditional weaving methods and full scale mock-ups helped determine the characteristics of the surface. this resulted in a woven surface that could hang in the gallery as well as support the weight of users on it. it was determined that a flexible system of pre-fabricated hanging columns and infill panels would allow the surface to form to specific constraints of the gallery site.

WHITE Book Installation, image courtesy studio 400

fabrication and installation

students participated in a collaborative, two-day effort to construct the components for the piece. circular and straight weaving looms (assembled from re-used materials) allowed for the quick and precise weaving of the columns and panels. round steel rod was hand-bent into five foot diameter rings that provided a transitional structure between the gallery space and the woven vertical columns. the foresight of using of pre-fabricated elements allowed the piece to be custom-fitted to the gallery space within a three-day time period.

WHITE Book Installation, image courtesy studio 400

installation began with placing the vertical columns where the existing structure of the gallery could support them, creating a staggered plan. a sheet of plastic was then hung from the ceiling, the first piece of several that would entirely wrap the gallery space, effectively separating the piece from the distinct characteristics of the brutalist-style gallery. the pre-constructed infill panels were then woven between the vertical columns, fitted to provide the desired tension and surface form. when the surface was finally installed, the remaining walls and floors of the gallery were covered in sheet plastic. videos of student work could also be projected onto one of these walls and extra plastic sheeting was woven into various shapes and sizes of pillows that were used as seating under the surface and beneath the vertical columns.

WHITE Book Installation, image courtesy studio 400

fabrication of the book's slipcases also occurred during the installation period. laser-cut, clear acrylic panels served as the faces of these hanging elements that would be the interface between the installation and the user. the front of each case was laser-etched with a wave-like parametric pattern that complemented the compound curves of the woven plastic surface. the clear front allowed the identity of each student's book to reveal itself, while the chartreuse back cover served as a unifying element that subtly distinguished the books from their white surroundings.

WHITE Book Installation, drawing courtesy studio 400

book show opening

the opening of "white" was a great success. students and faculty were introduced to the studio's research books in an interactive and novel environment. as one faculty member stated, "[white] effectively separates the book show from the gallery. where other shows seem to be installations occurring within the distinctive gallery, this one seems like a totally different space." users were encouraged to crouch or crawl under the surface, rising into the vertical columns where the books were located. they could then engage the books in the intimate space under the surface, or take the books to the more socially interactive space created above the surface.

adviser: professor karen lange

studio 400 team (in no particular order): annie bui, ben hait-campbell, ian carney, hanya chen, dion dekker, christina hackett, nathan kiatkulpiboone, mariko kobayashi, emily kirwan, mike loree, ross majewski, isshin morimoto, ryan nevius, nick pappas, alma padilla-iriarte, farnoosh rafaie, pablo sandoval, shanna sullivan, joe varholick, cory walker

+ All images and drawings courtesy studio 400