Found Associates.

Val des Portes
Alderney, Channel Islands

Found were appointed to carefully restore and extended an existing Georgian House on the island of Alderney. The project presented the opportunity to restore the original house and the typical landscape by removing all conflicting features that had been superimposed onto it. In their place a modern contemporary extension that in its archetypal arrangement of base, middle and top relates to the Georgian Classical Architecture. In addition, other recent planting and stepped walls within and around the house were removed to reinstate the native woodland.

The base – the existing basement and the new lower ground floor extension – acts like a podium, with its loggia above and crowned by the house at the top. Its thick walls branch of the existing boundary walls, retain the terrain and expose the paths to the various outdoor spaces. This system is unseen when one approaches the building from the main street and only revealed when the house is seen from the Route de Braye.

There, additional family bedrooms are given the courtyard privacy, whilst the additional social areas overlook the garden, the orchard, and the sea. At the edge, behind a tall boundary wall the parking area is tucked away, and access is given to the back of house areas.

The middle – the ground floor new extension – warps around the house. When approaching the house through the main entrance the focus is on the Georgian house whilst the extension elements to both sides are pure solid volumes set back and clearly detached from the original building by glazing to emphasise the distinction between old and new. Towards the sea and the landscape, the solid volumes dematerialise into a glazed long loggia which mediates between the private interior spaces and the expansive views. Punctuated by its columns, these frame the three key views: the sea, the landscape and the garden. This is a light and spacious space around which the daily family life revolves. It connects to three different outdoor living spaces: the dining terrace, the balcony, the viewing terrace.

The top – the existing house – sees its original character and features reinstated. The non-original partitions are removed. And the proportions of the rooms balanced. The master bedroom suite on the 1st floor and the family rooms on the top.

The materiality is a key element of the design, informed by the study of the site, its character and the local vernacular. The Georgian white facade was refurbished to show its stucco detailing. At ground floor the new extension is clad in a light grey-toned Portland Stone that mimics the colour of the island sands. Whereas the local stone used in the robust walls at the base is used to ensure that the building retains its link to the surrounding stone walls and to those Victorian walls. There the openings are carved and highlighted by fair-faced concrete lintels, raw and of rough appearance, like the walls themselves.

Services we provided for this project are:
Assembling Project Team
Design Direction
Concept Design
3D Visualisation
Pre-Application Advice
Planning Consent
Building Control Approval
Detail Design
Tender Drawings
Construction Drawings
On Site Attendance

Project Team:
Residential Architect and Interior Designer https://foundassociates.com
Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor http://www.sidsmithprojectmanagement.com
Structural Engineer https://www.pricemyers.com
Services Engineer http://www.wbshiels.com

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Residential Projects