Connecting Link

The brief was deceptively simple: to design a link between two buildings. However, the two buildings in question were a Grade 2 listed house built in 1729, and the former Stables building, built at the same time, and listed Grade 2*. Both buildings were designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, and obtaining planning permission, in a setting of such sensitivity, required detailed historical analysis of both existing buildings. The design consists of a crescent shaped single storey connecting link building. It is a device, often used in eighteenth century buildings, to connect the main block of a house to its pavilions. The curved elevation facing onto the front courtyard relates to the design of the main house and the stable block but remains subservient to it. The design is symmetrical and comprises 3 bays. Centrally placed double doors are reached by steps with a single sash window to each side. Horizontal moulded brick plat bands divide the elevation into three and reflect the main house elevation at a smaller scale. Gauged brick heads above the windows similarly reflect the main block. Small iron hopper and down pipes are discretely placed in the corners where the connecting link meets the existing buildings. The thick window bars to the connecting link windows reflect the main house windows and suggest early, as opposed, to late Georgian sashes. The materials of the walls are matching reclaimed red brick with matching lime mortar. Stone steps are hidden behind a red brick balustrade. Hoppers and gutters are in cast iron and are painted grey to match the existing down pipes of the main house. The roof, hidden behind a parapet, is of red conservation tiles to match the existing buildings.