Tin House
The back land site of the Tin House is entered from a modest London street through a ‘massive’ Soanian brick double-height arch – a gateway to a remarkable domestic inner world.
Set in a Victorian neighbourhood, this backland site is overlooked on all sides. Our response was to develop a low, inward looking courtyard house, offering both visual and acoustic privacy. The design is a composition of pavilions. This breaking down into the elements allowed us to respond to an irregular site boundary and to create an ensemble that looks onto a calm pool of water within a tranquil courtyard. Each pavilion accommodates a room. These spaces have pyramidal roofs with a generous top light over the centre. The roof shape has a low contour and maximizes spatial volume. The top light above brings the spaces to life. The roof-lights can be opened and on warm days the stack effect ensures that fresh cool air is drawn in from above the pool. For the bedrooms trapezoid black out blinds were specially developed. The living room has a fireplace with a wood burning stove. The flue, which has to be higher than adjacent buildings, is a tall brick chimney on square plan, tapering elegantly. It resembles a campanile overlooking the ensemble. Secondary spaces such as washrooms, storage and stairs are concealed within the double walls in between the pavilions. The pavilions are super-insulated (250mm of PY foam) and relatively airtight. A heat-recovery air system ensures energy efficient ventilation throughout the colder months. The pavilions are clad in a standing seam metal cladding, a modest utilitarian finish that accentuates the sculptural quality of the design.
