{"id":777807,"date":"2025-03-11T06:57:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T06:57:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=777807"},"modified":"2025-03-11T12:43:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T12:43:35","slug":"graeme-williamson-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-hertfordshire-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/graeme-williamson-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-hertfordshire-house","title":{"rendered":"Graeme Williamson completes Arts and Crafts-inspired Hertfordshire house"},"content":{"rendered":"

Replacing a 1970s bungalow, the house is set within a row of detached houses of the same period on the outskirts of Harpenden in Hertfordshire.<\/p>\n

Graeme Williamson Architects, set up by the former London director of Nord Architects, was appointed to develop preliminary ideas for the clients: a family of four.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the surrounding conservation area, which is full of Arts and Crafts architecture, the practice was drawn to the surrounding brick chimneys and asymmetric cat-slide roofs. The house therefore takes references from both periods \u2013 Arts and Crafts and 1970s architecture \u2013 featuring corbelled brickwork and a monolithic chimney stack.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wrapped in brick, the house also features internal details that reference its 1970s context with a traditional layout allowing for generous separation between office and guests.<\/p>\n

The plan is arranged around two axes. A front-to-rear axis is visible on entry while a transverse axis bookends the kitchen with a stairwell and an interior garden room. These have both been designed to bring lots of natural light and cross ventilation to the centre of the plan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Architect\u2019s view<\/h2>\n

The site in Harpenden falls within a conservation area rich in established examples of Arts and Crafts architecture. The immediate context of the house, however, is a run of detached 1970\u2019s homes. We were drawn to this period of house-building, with its distinctive brick chimneys and asymmetric cat-slide roofs and this provided a good starting point for discussions with planning.<\/p>\n

Formally, the design acknowledges both periods, borrowing corbelled brickwork, a monolithic chimney stack and an asymmetric roof form. The house feels generational and timeless in its language but contemporary in its detail and materiality.<\/p>\n

Rieder concrete panels are used on the roof and upper storey creating definition in the building’s profile. Vande Moortel bricks bring the form to ground wrapping around the perimeter and, as a nod to its 1970s context, appear inside the house in key details.<\/p>\n

Public and private functions are split traditionally between ground and first floor. A generous separation between office and guests was also sought to allow for \u2018space\u2019 \u2013 both perceptual and tangible \u2013 between these additional uses.<\/p>\n

Organisationally, the plan is arranged around two axes: a front-to-rear axis visible on entry and a transverse axis book-ending the kitchen with the stairwell and an interior garden room, both of which are designed to bring light and cross ventilation to the centre of the plan.
\nGraeme Williamson, director, Graeme Williamson Architects<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Client\u2019s view<\/h2>\n

We appointed Graeme Williamson Architects to create a home for our family following a recommendation from a family member who had worked with Graeme at Nord Architects in Glasgow. We had not embarked on this kind of process before but felt we developed trust from an early stage and that Graeme Williamson Architects’ designs spoke to our brief and offered an enticing vision of what it might be like to live here.<\/p>\n

The garden room we took some convincing on and some of the external material proposed for the upper storey was something we hadn\u2019t expected \u2013 but both have been innovative and thoughtful additions.<\/p>\n

While it was certainly stressful in its delivery, and had many challenges along the way, the resultant building is incredibly enriching to live in for our family. The building is generous and welcoming in its social spaces and cosy and quiet where it needs to be. The house is filled with sunlight \u2013 even on dull days \u2013 and the materials used are durable but refined. It is a pleasure to live in.
\nPrivate client<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Project data
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Location<\/strong> Harpenden, Hertfordshire
\nStart on site<\/strong> October 2021
\nCompletion date<\/strong> January 2024
\nGross internal floor area<\/strong>\u00a0380m2
\n<\/sup>Form of contract or procurement\u00a0route<\/strong>\u00a0JCT Intermediate
\nConstruction cost<\/strong> Undisclosed
\nArchitect<\/strong> Graeme Williamson Architects
\nClient<\/strong> Private
\nStructural engineer<\/strong> David Carr Engineers
\nQuantity surveyor <\/strong>Measur
\nSustainability consultant<\/strong> EAL Consult
\nPrincipal designer<\/strong> Graeme Williamson Architects
\nCDM co-ordinator<\/strong> Graeme Williamson Architects
\nApproved building inspector<\/strong> Prime Group
\nMain contractor<\/strong> Datum Point Construction
\nCAD software used<\/strong> Vectorworks, Rhino<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Replacing a 1970s bungalow, the house is set within a row of detached houses of the same period on the outskirts of Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Graeme Williamson Architects, set up by the former London director of Nord Architects, was appointed to develop preliminary ideas for the clients: a family of four. Inspired by the surrounding …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59337,"featured_media":777852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[706],"tags":[45758,101541,1961,1310],"yoast_head":"\nGraeme Williamson completes Arts and Crafts-inspired Hertfordshire house<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 380m2 new-build, four-bed house on the outskirts of Harpenden features a brick chimney and asymmetric cat-slide roof inspired by Arts and Crafts architecture\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/buildings\/graeme-williamson-completes-arts-and-crafts-inspired-hertfordshire-house\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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