Chetty chetty bang bang: step aside Caractacus Potts, Laurie Chetwood's home is a fun palace in the country, near London and not a million miles from Hushaby Mountain.Michael Sorkin Michael Sorkin (1948, Washington, D.C. - ) Michael Sorkin, is the President/ Founder of Terreform in New York City, a nonprofit organization devoted to both practical and theoretical projects at all scales with a special interest in the city. had to be almost forcibly forc·i·ble adj. 1. Effected against resistance through the use of force: The police used forcible restraint in order to subdue the assailant. 2. Characterized by force; powerful. restrained from serially voting for the Chetwood house (not allowed, one jury member, one vote). But we were all very impressed by its inventive light heartedness, both in spatial and material terms. Curiously, its strangest effects have been achieved quite economically: the result shows the powers of an architectural imagination at play. Laurie Chetwood, his wife Roz and his two children Charlie (five) and Emily (three), live in their own self-designed, and largely self-built country retreat. When designing his own home, Chetwood has clearly had fun. In search of what he describes as sixth sense design--responding to instinct rather than intellect--he has been energetic in his inventiveness, colourful in his expression, and practical in his self-taught craftsmanship. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The original house, which they bought over ten years ago, was a disused disused Adjective no longer used Adj. 1. disused - no longer in use; "obsolete words" obsolete noncurrent - not current or belonging to the present time disused adj holiday home previously exhibited at the 1930 Ideal Home exhibition. The cedar frame and cedar clad kit-house was in need of renovation and expansion, so with a keen interest in exploring natural forms in architecture, he chose butterflies--the dominant species on the site--as his inspiration. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] In terms of building forms, a conservatory and guest suite have been built to create a split level link between the existing house and a modest weather-boarded summer house, which now functions as Chetwood's studio. This new link serves as a formal entrance hall--exploiting elevated views across the Surrey/Sussex Hills--as the climax to the route that metaphorically traces the evolutionary life cycle of a butterfly, leading visitors through the encapsulation (1) In object technology, the creation of self-contained modules that contain both the data and the processing. See object-oriented programming. (2) The transmission of one network protocol within another. of the chrysalis chrysalis (krĭs`əlĭs): see pupa. , and the vibrant colour burst as wings unfold, before taking flight to the landscape beyond. Externally, hundreds of metres of optic fibres and irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. pipes bring life and light to the landscaped terraces, which sit beneath the retractable re·tract v. re·tract·ed, re·tract·ing, re·tracts v.tr. 1. To take back; disavow: refused to retract the statement. 2. wing-like canopies. While internally the playful Heath Robinson-like inventiveness continues, with bungee web chairs, a retractable dining table, operable operable /op·er·a·ble/ (op´er-ah-b'l) subject to being operated upon with a reasonable degree of safety; appropriate for surgical removal. op·er·a·ble adj. bonnet hip vents, and five rotating screen walls that divide living and kitchen areas. Roach pole fishing rods, rowing seats and skateboard wheels are just a few of the modified objects incorporated into everyday household devices. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Love it or hate it, the house is unique: a playful, inventive and truly scrumptious family home. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion