Year: 2006
Contract value: £ 1,200,000

Original proposal for an independent house on the grounds of Klippan House, a large listed building in Hampstead

The client brief was to create a unique independent house to replace two garages on the grounds of Klippan House, a large 19th Century Gothic Revival villa designed by Ewan Christian for himself. . Ewan Christian was an architect whose output consisted mainly of religious buildings and this influence can be observed in the design of his own house.

The idea behind the design was to create a house, which sat comfortably within this important part of Hampstead Conservation Area and respected its larger, older neighbour. sentence adds anything?]The main inspiration behind the principle of the design for the house was to follow the religious mood of the original design by Ewan Chirstian
The front elevation was formed from a large bay window, an element which is repeated in the neighouring buildings. The window was subdivided into different shaped pieces of glass, some clear, some obscure. The division not only gives a better scale to the bay, but it almost becomes the abstract representation of a tree, an element found in the design of the windows of Gothic architecture. The division was made of steel channels filled in with limestone.
The other prominent material to be used for the design was red brick, which is the material used both in Klippan House and in other surrounding buildings. To the rear the elevation treatment was freer, with extensive use of glass and a terrace. The roof was to be a metal roof, such as zinc or copper.
The ground floor was the principal floor with living, dining and kitchen; the basement incorporated the family room to the rear and with a guest bedroom to the front. The other bedrooms were located in the first and second floor of the house.

The overall aim was to have a contextual design with presence, yet subservient to the surrounding buildings.

Consultation took place with the planners who appeared pleased with the design. However, the client subsequently decided that there was need for a building, which went with the main house rather than being independent.