Holiday House
Restoration and refurbishment of the 'Solar Pavillion' designed by Peter and Alison Smithson.
The Solar Pavilion was designed in 1958 by Alison and Peter Smithson who used it as a family weekend home between 1961 and 1982 and is widely recognised as an icon of ‘New Brutalism’. Under new ownership the building has been restored and upgraded to provide a more comfortable environment for weekend visits. The timber-framed pavilion is located on an existing stone wall which fully encloses a grassed and cobbled garden and is fully glazed on three sides. A previous extension adjacent to the building was removed to bring back into use the open terrace area with the addition of a 2x2.5m concrete table which was cast in-situ. Internally, an underfloor heating system was installed within the first floor construction providing background heating to both ground and first floor areas.
Glazing was replaced with high performance single glazing and the ground floor doors were restored to allow for the original opening and sliding configuration. New furniture was introduced to replace elements which were no longer performing, like the kitchen, shelving and banco seating. All materials and existing details were generally refitted, cleaned or restored in a way that retains their direct expression.
