Client: Private
Location: Blackheath, London, SE3
Date: Dec 2010 (on site) – September 2011 (completed)
Fraser Brown MacKenna Architects have completed a new summer house in the grounds of a modernist home designed in 1957 by, and for, the renowned architect Peter Moro. Located in the south-east corner of the garden within the Blackheath conservation area, the building is sensitively positioned beneath the canopy of mature trees, which form a visual buffer between the site and neighbouring properties. The listed house, established planting and sloping topography provide a rich context to which the new intervention carefully responds.
The summer house was commissioned by two acclaimed artists, who wished to remain anonymous, and developed through close consultation with both the clients and the local planning authority. The design is formed from two interconnected, interlocking volumes that fold and are angled obtusely in response to the landscape and tree canopy. One solid volume appears to float above the slope of the site, while a more transparent volume opens toward the lawn. Together they create an enclosed yet outward-looking space, oriented to maximise natural daylight and afternoon sun.
A timber entrance ramp leads to a small terrace and into the main sunroom, framing views back toward the main house and across the garden. Slot windows in the solid volume offer glimpses through the treescape, while large bifolding doors in the glazed volume open onto a timber deck, establishing a strong physical and visual connection to the landscape.
Constructed by Ecoism with structural design by Built Engineers, the building is highly insulated and airtight, and wrapped in natural materials that reflect its setting. Copper panels on the solid volume were patinated by the artists themselves, allowing the surface to respond subtly to rainfall and changing weather conditions over time.