What happens when the architect turns into their own client?
Paul an Architect from Wells in Somerset is used to helping his customers navigate the complexities of their material choices.
Paul an Architect from Wells in Somerset is used to helping his customers navigate the complexities of their material choices. Paul says “it can be a challenge to get the right balance between a customers tastes and your design expertise but ultimately they trust you to deliver on a range of criteria”. This is why we wanted to know what the architect does when they design for themselves as the client.
Paul took a modest looking 4 bedroom detached 1960s house in the smallest city in England and renovated way beyond its original style boundaries. Thinking outside the box isn’t new for Paul an award winning architect renowned for his forward thinking approach to architecture. A big part of the renovation and you could say a real ‘face-lift’ has been the exterior cladding.
Faced with the usual approach, Paul had to decide what look he wanted to go for and of course what shape. Like a true creative Paul quickly pushed aside the conventional and decided upon an irregular board width, finish and orientation. The boards would run vertically with signature 10mm gap between and seamlessly flow up and round 3 dimensions to connect or rather incorporate the fascias and soffits. This cohesion and theme of stripes has enabled Paul to blend what would ordinarily be a predictable look derived from the vertical and horizontal functionality of classic 60s mainstream building principles. A key part of Pauls brief from the start.
“I wanted to take everything ordinary about the building and break the rules with the feature shapes whilst still keeping the look and feel of a retro home”.
The risk of using such strong dominant parallel lines is that it can make the building look cold and synthetic so it was key to explore warmth and texture in natural materials. The natural grain of real wood boards would provide the organic and warm feel but I couldn’t just use any old timber. As well as being durable for outdoor use and a quality softwood suitable for external cladding, the timber had to be reasonably clear of knots so these wouldn’t distract the eye from the design.
“I visited Timbersource with a bit of a tricky brief and although I knew what I wanted, I wasn’t sure how I would get there or if indeed my requirements were realistic”. Timbersource reassured me that not only was it possible but it was a great idea and they had the perfect timber in mind.
North American Douglas Fir is an externally rated and durable softwood used to extreme changes in weather in the northern hemisphere of American and Canada. It therefore behaves very similarly to the renowned Cedar of the same region. The stand out features though in North American Douglas fir is its beautifully unique grain pattern. A signature show of almost tiger striping as the grain crowns and swirls through the board changing from topographic contours to thin wavey stripes. The all important criteria and a familiar challenge was the knot content. Well this was another of the Douglas Fir’s qualities. The 85/15 clear grade is well known for being very minimal on knots.
Next though was how to stylise the timber with a uniform identity colour. A key part of Paul’s plan for creating the continuity around three dimensions. This was where Rubio Monocoat came in.
“Timbersource mentioned Rubio and for me it was about getting a solution that would ensure I didn’t spoil great quality and valuable timber. Now I have found the timber I want, I don’t want it to lose its identity or impact”.
Paul needed the assurance from a top brand that he could have fun with colourising the timber without compromising the quality. Rubio Monocoat have their Wood Cream range which allows the customer to ‘go have fun’ and splash colour on knowing Rubio have you covered on the protection side.
“Now I just needed to make sure my light grey wouldn’t go too flat and matt and allow the beautiful grain pattern to come through”.
Timbersource and SCF hardware are a stockist of Rubio Monocoat and all 3 businesses work in conjunction so Paul was able to get samples of both the wood and the coating to try out a few combinations. Timbersource cut the Douglas Fir to size and planed all round and delivered to Paul so he was ready to build his ‘jigsaw vision’.
“It was great having everything planed and cut ready for me at Timbersource. Those guys saved me a lot of hard work and set me up with a parallel component ready for assembly”.
Well we know Paul that often the best creations don’t come without their hard work but the design sure looks effortless. We think Paul has nailed his brief to sculpturally blend the 3 dimensions. The conventional functionality has been cohesively cloaked in satisfyingly regimented parallels to create a tasteful nod to the 60s but bold step into the future.
“I am really thrilled with the results and I am so pleased I brought my idea to Timbersource and Rubio. They really understood my vision and put energy into ticking all my boxes. As an architect I prefer not to compromise and I’m happy that the process meant I didn’t have to”
I strongly recommend persisting with your ideas and keep pushing past the obvious solution provided you can find an open minded company to work with.
We want to say thank you to Paul for innovating with Timbersource and Rubio. If you would like to know more about how you can realise your vision with us please get in touch today for a free consultation.
