Calluna
Location:
Aldeburgh, Suffolk, UK
Client:
Private
Structural Engineer:
JP Chick & Partners
Landscape Design:
Luke Heyden Gardens
Interior Design:
Michele Barker
Building Contractor:
James Norman Builder
Photographs:
©The Modern House
Existing House and Context
Calluna lies along the Suffolk coastal landscape, close to beautiful stretches of beach, north of Aldeburgh. RSPB North Warren is to the east of the house, and Hazlewood Marshes are to the west.
The North Warren estate is dominated by large one and two-storey, detached houses, set within large plots. All were originally constructed at the same time, and several properties have had various scales of redevelopment since originally constructed.
The existing plot comprised a single-storey, detached house with an integrated garage, set within a mature garden setting that gently slopes up away from the house on the south-facing garden.
The house sits in the centre of the plot, and it is understood that the property was originally built in the 1970’s and has remained little changed since.
The site entrance is to the north of the house. The access comes through to a large forecourt that can accommodate several vehicles.
The house is constructed from load-bearing brickwork with a painted render finish. The pitched roofs are finished in concrete tiles with the two flat-roofed areas to the central entrance and garage.
The integrated garage sat on the western side of the main house and opened to the rear garden via a single-leaf back door.
Transformation of 1970’s modernism
Our brief was to convert the existing double garage into the Main Bedroom, acting as a separate western wing to the main house. To create this, the existing external, covered link corridor was to be enclosed with a glazed wall to create a hallway link to the garage conversion.
Also important to the project was the retention of the original charm and modernist qualities of the 1970’s house.
The existing double garage spaces were too narrow to fit a modern car and were being used by the previous owner as overspill storage for the main house. Its conversion, to form the Main Bedroom with an adjoining En-suite, is accommodated within the existing footprint, with the only increase in internal floor area created via the enclosure of the existing canopy to form a link corridor from the main house through to the new bedroom.
New openings were formed within the existing Garage block to serve the new bedroom space, with the new glazing system installed to the new and existing openings throughout to maintain a consistent fenestration to the whole house.
As part of the refurbishment works, the existing flat roof coverings and insulation levels were upgraded to meet current building regulations.
The original central entrance was retained and carefully refurbished, which included a bright glazed porch and a large timber-framed window. Throughout, an authentic feel has been preserved; period features remain in situ, including teak thresholds in all the doors.
The existing well-proportioned bedrooms to the east of the entrance were mainly retained as original. To the west of the entrance are the primary living spaces, subtly delineated from one another. A long window in the sitting room frames garden views, and a new log-burning stove provides an offset focal point to both the Living and adjoining Dining Space. A rich material palette has been used here, with new parquet floors and Ketley bricks. A new paved dining terrace was created between the Living Room and the converted Master Bedroom.
Behind is the kitchen, which has cork floors and plywood cabinetry. Lime-green countertops provide a pop of colour.
