Hamish Hereford from the award winning practice Hamish and Lyons has been commissioned to design and manage a substantial multi-room garden house in the grounds of Hurley Manor House.
A Glulam primary structure set on a steel platform with stilts over a man made lake, the house presents a contemporary alternative in contrast to the period building to which it is linked.
How was it designed?
Designed with large sections of visible timber structures and glass, the building offers a flowing and open plan living space. It invites you to appreciate spectacular views across the lake into the surrounding landscape.
A hardwood decked walkway was created from a substructure of 30 mm thickness Iroko as a plate interface between the steel and the decking. The decking was Iroko at 70 mm width and 60 mm thickness. This was a complete revelation in decking design, comfortable underfoot and is stylish. Everything was fixed from underneath so the aesthetic was left undisrupted and smooth.
The extended roof section soffits were also under-clad in hardwood, manufactured on site by the contractor from Iroko in 68 mm x 21 mm sections. This was reverse fixed to mirror the decking, a beautiful detail by the Architect. When designing balustrade the hand rails are quite often a let down but, with such an impressive single section of 225 mm width and 68 mm thickness Iroko there were no compromise on this project. The same logic was applied to the step arrangement, two sections of 165 mm x 65 mm carefully profiled to allow subtle movement without disrupting the design of the step.
Karl Harrison said “it was a joy to work with a contemporary design like this and in such detail. I look forward to the next project”
Wood treatment
The timber was treated post installation with Owatrol products, Prepdeck followed by Net-Trol and once dried, a flood application of D1 Oil was used. The fixings were from Carpenters Mate and in 316 Stainless Steel.
Architects Hamish & Lyons Architects
Main Contractor RJ Clyde Builders Ltd
Timber Used Iroko ‘FSC Select’ Treated with Owatrol Prepdeck, Net-Trol and D1
Timber Consultant Karl Harrison
Where Handrail, Steps, Decking, Structure, Soffits
Project Hurley Manor
Location Henley on Thames
Awards Iconic Awards 2017 Architecture Winner
Shortlisted for a RIBA South Regional 2017 Award
Shortlisted for a World Architecture Festival Award 2017
Images with permission from James Brittain Photography
