Garden City House

This project for house in Hatfield explores the potential of a dwelling in a protected Garden City locale. Because of the area’s historic sensitivity, this severely restricted external modifications, so the project focused on what could be achieved in terms of reworking and opening up the internal space.

New elements, such as a floating staircase with a wafer-thin glass balustrade and an elegantly minimal fireplace, infuse the interior with a light, contemporary sensibility. The imperative for economy gives rise to some inventive solutions: for instance, a ‘concrete’ bench is in fact a timber structure covered in a thick layer of resin-based paint.

In a less historically sensitive programme, the loft storey under the pitched roof would have been opened up through the introduction of skylights or dormer windows. However, local planning regulations prohibited external additions or intrusions. The windowless space has therefore been remodelled for use as a home cinema.

Acoustic conditions are enhanced by a specially designed screen of vertical timber members calculated to absorb sound. The space resembles a kind of domestic womb, intimate and warm, equipped with the very latest in with home entertainment. The project demonstrates Paul McAneary Architects’ capacity to creatively reconceive spatial relationships and functions in historically protected buildings. [By Catherine Slessor*]