Light House
New build 800m2 house on back land site in Notting Hill, London.
London, UK
1996–2005
Sector: Residential
Client: Private Client
Project Status: Completed
Awards
Manser Medal 2006, Shortlisted
RIBA Award 2006, Winner
AIA (UK) Excellence in Design Award 2007, Winner
Grand Designs Best New Build House 2007, Finalist
The orientation of the site runs almost east-west and is heavily overlooked and overshadowed on the south and west elevations. The key challenge of the project was to maintain privacy whilst at the same time optimize daylight and sunlight penetration into the house.
Our starting point was to represent the empty volume of the site as a 3D grid of data points, each with a range of varying attributes (see also Data Structure Research). Working with Structural Engineers Arup, a detailed environmental analysis for each individual point was carried out, producing a database of solar and daylight conditions throughout the year. In addition, weather patterns specific to London were incorporated and the resulting environmental data were analysed using special database mining software. Alongside the client’s preferences and lifestyle, this formed the basis of the design process.
As a result, the section became inverted, placing the bedrooms on the ground floor and the living spaces on the first floor. Terraces and gardens create internal courtyard volumes into which the surrounding spaces face. The inward looking nature of the site in conjunction with the inverted section led to the development of a completely glazed roof which functions as an environmental moderator, filtering sunlight and daylight through layers of transparency and opacity.
Light House Construction
Light House Process
Light House Study 2
Light House Study from Gianni Botsford on Vimeo.