Pool House Design Statement

Cort Scott

ARCHITECTURE \& URBAN DESIGN

The Print House - 18 Ashwin St. - London, 18 3DL - UK TEL: +44 (0) 2072546294 - EMAIL: [email protected]

Seamount Pool House: Item 20: Additional Information to planning application form January 2011

Background

The client owns a house and smaller, ancillary residential cottage which sit apart from the proposed building of this application. The client has almost completed the refurbishment of the main house, Seamount, and work is due to start soon on the cottage, Seafield. (Planning reference code for the Seafiled Cottage project: ref: )

This application is for a poolhouse building which is designed with both these buildings and the landscape in mind and will provide swimming, gym, changing and terrace areas.

Existing Site

We have chosen to place the building within the Northern most walled garden of the grounds. This is a secluded area and the proposed building would not be visible form the two highways which border the grounds of Seamount. (As evident in the existing photographs below.) We imagine the roof would be constructed using a carefully detailed dark metal cladding in order to create a low pitch and elevation. The walls would be Castlestone Stone with areas of quality glazing - to match Seafield Cottage as approved last year.

View of the walled garden in the Northern corner of the grounds of the main house. The tree to the right of the picture is to be removed and replaced as of the proposed site plan.

View of the Main house and grounds from Scarlett Road. It is not possible to see the site or proposal from here due to the rise in the land.

View of the Seafield Cottage from the service road. It is not possible to see the site or proposal from here due to the rise in the land.

Existing Trees

Our application will necessitate the removal of four trees as indicated in the existing site plan (Drawing SMP 01-03).

We have consulted with Peter Keenan from the Forestry Department on this matter and I attach copies of the correspondence. A previous version of the scheme at the time of consulting with Peter was full length and necessitated further removal of trees, however we have revised this after a undertaking tree survey and discussions with the Forestry department.

We sympathise with Peter's advice advice that we should aim to keep tree 09, the largest and finest specimen in this part of the garden. This tree is indicated in the scheme below. Peter Keenan do not feel as concerned about the removal of the trees within the walled garden.

Gor Scott 11 p - Registered Limited Liability Partnership No. OC356656 Registered Address: 238 Amharst Rd - London N16 7LV

Summary Of Design Approach

The context of the walled garden has driven the concept of the poolhouse; a building which seems to grow out of the wall and defines the garden courtyard. We have also considered the relationship to the main house, the cottage, garage carefully in massing and material terms.

• The proposal sits as a simple, low lying independent building form that shares a relationship with the main house and cottage. It does not seek to compete in either scale or architectural expression.
• Our design approach is sensitive to the vernacular of the island and makes use of local materials.
• The relationship to the existing characterfull stone walls has been considered in detail. The proposal is to retain and underpin the existing Western wall (the tallest stone wall of the site) and to avoid a visually awkward division the volume of the proposed poolhouse is separated by a gap which locates an external stair to the sun terrace. The Northern wall will be rebuilt using the original stones once we have formed the structure for the pool. A glazed clerestory will sit between this lower wall and the roof along the length of the pool and gym.
• The zinc roof is a departure from traditional slate, though this will be a dark grey colour and of a pre-weathered finish. The choice of zinc enables a lower profile to the roof which presents the desirable form and elevation.
• The building is located up a hill and set back from the secondary road. Trees and wide hedges line this road and prevent views of the building.
• The proposal makes the most of the solar orientation. Large windows and a terrace are located on the South elevation.
• We have aimed to make the most of the great opportunities of the site in terms of view, connections to the garden and light.