Portfolio project
Porch that turns a house around

Tom Hughes

We've been working on the remodelling and extension of a Suffolk cottage for some time now — starting with our 2009 RIBA award winning artist's studio. An internal reworking of the ground floor has improved circulation, usable space and natural lighting.

The final element is now on site: a glass and steel porch at the back door will create a generous welcome space and energy-saving draft lobby.

We often find with existing houses that the 'back door' is in fact the main access for family, guests and deliveries alike, and a decision has to be made: reinstate the status of the front door, or accept the established usage and make the back door a decent point of arrival?

In this case the 1980s flat roofed 'garden room' extension to the rear of the house - with improved windows and insulation - has become the main area for entertaining guests; the new porch will turn the house around and connect it all back together.

Arrows

Thibaut Devulder

Preparing a workshop in Lille for our Ooo-Ya-Tsu performance, I am drafting a graphical framework in Processing to work on the drawing interaction. A few accidental numbers changes in the program and suddenly the generated graphics all drifted into weird unpredictable abstraction...

Walker House remodel

Thibaut Devulder

The existing house

Our clients are now finalising the site work on our remodel of their home in Eidsvoll, Norway.

We were originally approached by the clients in 2011, to reorganise a family house that had become overcrowded for their family of five and — more importantly — to create a modern comfortable home they would be proud of.

The clients' brief

The model of the surveyed house

Already extended once, this house was in fact spacious enough for the family. Yet the existing layout made poor use of the internal space: stiffly compartmenting into disconnected rooms, the floor plans created several "dead areas" on key locations of the three levels, which were mostly left unused by its inoccupants or barely used for storage.

The existing services were obsolete and poorly placed — with no bathroom on the ground floor for instance — and the clients were eager to upgrade the building fabric and technical installations as part of the remodelling exercise. Summer overheating and noise from the increasing overhead airport traffic were particularly problematic.

Conscious that their three teenage sons would soon be leaving the family home, the parents were also willing to remodel the house so that the upper floor could easily be isolated from their accessible quarters on the ground floor in the coming years, to be rented out to tenants with minimum additional work.

All these had to be addressed with minimum alterations to the exterior of the building, to fit the budget and the local planning rules.

Unlocking the flow

After a detailed survey of the existing house, we identified key factors breaking the flow through the house. These were tackled by a series of strategic moves that could unlock the potential of the space in a cost effective way. At the core of the approach was to clarify the organisation of public and private spaces, and how these flowed into one another.

A few key changes to the internal building fabric allowed us to both connect the spaces for greater flexibility in use (to host large family events, for instance) and respond to the need for privacy between the different parts of the house.

 Creating an experience

Altering the floor plans was the first move to transform this home. We extended this approach to carefully select interior materials and light fittings, to suggest and emphasize the new relationships between the spaces.

Entering the house, the visitor is drawn further into the spaces by a series of focal points revealing themselves progressively from different viewpoints as the house is explored, linking the social spaces and the large garden outdoors.

Improving comfort

The timber structure was fully re-insulated internally, using high density natural wood fibre insulation to improve all year round thermal comfort and dampen external noise. Comfort was further improved by replacing the existing windows with hi-spec new low-energy and noise reduction glazing.

With minimal changes to the existing drainage system, two new family bathrooms and a guest toilet were added to the ground and first floors. Connected to a new centralised ventilation system, they dramatically improve indoor air quality in a quiet and energy efficient way.

Working in close collaboration with the clients, with their in-depth knowledge of every corner of the house and the way it was constructed, allowed very detailed design and planning of all the alterations, while keeping building costs low.

Low energy house, high quality space

Tom Hughes

Over the bank holiday I dropped in to see how the clients for our low energy house are getting on. They've been in residence for a good few months now and it was great to see the house in operation as a home.

The property is going to be open to visitors as part of the programme of tours arranged during September 2013 by West Bridgford Eco Houses- if you want to visit check out their blog post about the house.

All the energy saving features are behaving well, although it is too early yet to get statistical feedback on performance. The basic principle is to make good use of passive solar gains from the south and trap the heat in the the high thermal mass of the building, inside a highly insulated jacket. Overheating is prevented by the thermal mass, which evens out temperature highs and lows, and by effective use of shading on the south facing windows. The other important factor is to control drafts, and the build quality here is exceptionally good.

The really gratifying thing to see was that the house is working well as a home for our clients- it's clearly a comfortable, welcoming and relaxed place to live.

LaM pavilion in "Inflatable: Art, Architecture & Design"

Thibaut Devulder
IAAD.jpg

Our inflatable pavilion for the Lille Museum of Modern Art is featured in Jacobo Krauel's new book "Inflatable: Art, Architecture & Design", published by Links.

Storgata interiors

Thibaut Devulder

As part of their remodelling and refurbishment of a large office building in downtown Oslo into the new Olympiagården project, Various Architects — with whom we are sharing an office — invited us to work with them on the detailed design of interior furniture for their design of the future Lederne Headquarters.

Concept development for stacked wood partitions

Various Architects' design included a series of large timber partitions that would integrate seating, services and storage. Articulating the new refurbished office space in a playful and subtle manner, these interior elements were to create a unifying visual and functional concept for the large open plan office.

Their design and positioning were to weave social spaces to create spots for impromptu social interactions, but also help subtly define more private areas for focused work and conceal the services and air conditionning system. Other furniture such as the reception desk and work spaces, were also to be custom-made in a similar fashion.

Image © Various Architects

Image © Various Architects

Based on their brief we developed a series of design concepts playing on the idea of the massiveness of stacked timber elements, with their textures contrasting with the existing concrete structure of the building. These concepts were developed with Various Architects, in consultation with a number of joinery companies specialised in custom-made office fittings, that gave us feedback during the design stage, to make sure that budget and technical constraints would be met.

We then finalised the detailed design of the timber elements and prepared a series of concept and technical drawings that were incorporated to the tender package for the project.

The refurbishment and fittings of the Lederne Headquarters is now on site. As with our collaboration on the Aalto Campus competition, it has been a pleasure working with Various Architects and we are looking forward to collaborating with them again on exciting projects!

Artist residency

Thibaut Devulder

I had a week-long workshop last week in France with art collective QuboGas and musician DDDIXIE to develop the concept of our collaborative art performance Ooo-Ya-Tsu.

As part of our art residency at music venue L'Aéronef, we also got our first opportunity to experiment on a full scale stage and sound system, testing some of our ideas on motion tracking, video setup and interfacing DDDIXIE old analog synthesisers with my Processing computer program.

Photos © Morgan Dimnet, of QuboGas.

New light filled heart to a 1920s home

Tom Hughes

Our strategic approach to the remodel of a 1920s home was to carve out a new space at the centre- relinking areas of the house that for reasons of class had originally been divided into servant and served.

Into this void would go a contemporary stair, a strong element in its own right but designed to direct space- creating important spatial links and sightlines.

The existing stained-glass steel framed window to the south elevation remains in place, pouring light into the new heart of the house.

Tweaking hardware

Thibaut Devulder

First experiments with physical computing for our collaborative performance Ooo-Ya-Tsu with art collective QuoboGas and musicien Olivier Durteste (aka DDDXIE). We will be using the Processing programming platform to generate the visual and sound effects of our live drawing and musical performance and we are doing the first test of live motion tracking on stage using a WiiMote prototype.

Still in its early days, but it's nice to see the system starting to interact with the physical environment!

The project will be developed over the new year as part of an art residency with music venue L'Aéronef, in Lille (France).

Deep in the Forest of Acro

Thibaut Devulder

We've given you a clear idea about your destination, and working with the builder, engineer and others we've mapped out a route to get you there. But when embarking on a remodelling project there's often no way round the forest of 'acrow props' that will temporarily invade your space.

This cottage remodel will open up three poky little rooms into a decent living space and connected kitchen. Opening up space like this can transform a house but the joys of open plan living can quickly die if it's not right for your lifestyle- we always try to balance the breathing space and light created by larger spaces with the functionality and feeling of security offered by cellular rooms. This approach brings out the best in existing buildings and delivers spaces that meet our client's needs.

Invented in 1935 by a Swiss engineer, the Acrow Prop provides adjustable temporary support for the existing structure while new elements such as beams and coloumns are inserted. Their appearance signals a major advance in the project, but the Forest of Acrow can seem a gloomy and threatening place too. Things get more complex by the day, the route can be hard to see and final destination feels further away than ever. Time to look at those visualisations again and keep moving forward- end results like this will be worth it!

Phase 2 already well underway in the Gabillou barn

Thibaut Devulder

The award-winning self-building clients for our barn conversion in south-western France have started to build the second phase of the internal timber structure in the historic stone building.

This structure will support the upper level of the barn where the bedrooms will be located, as well as a balcony over the full-height interior space. Underneath, the large open kitchen will face the living space, hiding the utility rooms and the garage/workshop behind it.

The construction is following our original detailed design (above), using a post-and-beam framework and lightweight timber I-beams, to create an internal timber structure that could be easily assembled by self-builders without lifing equipment. The large timber structure was also designed to stand independently of the stone walls and existing roof structure, so that minimum intervention would be required on the historic structure.

Prior to construction, our design was checked by a French specialist in timber structure (Equation Bois, based in neighbouring town Périgueux), who worked with the clients and us to prepare the detailed specification of the structural elements.

The first phase of this internal timber structure, completed recently, created a temporary accommodation space inside the barn for our clients, where they will live until the rest of the barn is converted. Later on, it will be used as a comfortable bedroom for their future Bed & Breakfast, with the main living-room for the house above it.

You can follow the progress of the project on our clients' blog.

Portfolio project
A barn conversion in Dordogne

Thibaut Devulder

We were delighted when Mélanie and Béranger approached us to help them convert an old stone barn in south-west France into their new family home. This was the perfect project to combine our interests in sustainability, self-build construction and conservation.

Sketch perspective of the converted barn, looking across the main living space

We worked closely with our clients to design a beautiful but affordable house, with a flexible layout and minimal environmental footprint. We brought together the different requirements of their family project, unveiling the stunning character of the 200 year-old stone building, while responding to the practical requirements of its new use.

The 200 year-old barn, before the conversion 

Preserving and enhancing

Our initial task was to carry out a detailed measured survey of the existing stone barn and a careful condition survey to establish the need for repair and conservation work, so that our new intervention could fit around and preserve the old wood and stone structure. This also helped us understand the key views, approaches and landscape requirements for this conversion project, to enhance its integration in the surrounding nature.

The vast and the intimate

We wanted to preserve what we experienced on our first visit to the original barn: an impressive feeling of spaciousness with a peaceful daylight filtering softly through the fallen roof tiles... This meant establishing a clear hierarchy of indoor spaces, so that the whole range of specific functions of the barn's new domestic use could be accommodated without overcrowding the attractive indoor volumes.

The barn under construction: new insulated roof and repointed stone walls.

The other challenge was to introduce natural daylight deep into a previously dark agricultural building. To respect the traditional architectural topology of the stone barn, we concentrated the new openings into few, larger light wells: they reflected off the light surface finishes and created contrasts between social spaces — opening up to the hight roof structure — and the more intimate private rooms. This also promoted effective natural ventilation across the barn in summer.

We chose to keep as much as possible of the meter-thick stone walls in the interior, and insulated the new roof cover and floor slabs. Hovering within the stone volume is a secondary timber structure that weaves itself around the oak roof trusses, clearly identifying the new from the old and contrasting the textured historical materials with the contemporary new ones.

 

Harnessing the site’s resources

Carefully balancing the client’s lifestyle choices, budget and aspirations, we designed and implemented design sustainability measures that we knew would work and could gracefully integrate with the historical building. This meant low-tech solutions with proven track record, that used resources readily available around the site.

Making the most of the barn's extraordinary thermal mass, we incorporating radiant underfloor heating in the newly insulated floor slabs and connecting it to a central wood boiler, running on locally harvested wood logs.

The vast roof was also ideal for rainwater collection, and the system we designed made the barn virtually independent for all water needs (including drinking water!). And while re-landscaping the surrounding agricultural land, we designed a complete waste treatment system based on reed-beds, a completely natural process that would purify all waste water from the family — and even transforming it into clean water for their new natural swimming pond!

Client, user, builder...

A key feature of this project was that the clients would manage the building process themselves. We carefully phased the construction to make sure that the house would be comfortable and accommodating during the whole process, which may take years to complete. We also attentively considered the family’s cashflow over timeand their future aspirations and projects (the house will eventually double as a guesthouse).

So the new home is designed from the start into a series of stages that will evolve with the family, all the way from a space to park a caravan on the site! At each building stage, the plan and structural system work together to create comfortable habitable spaces, building in flexibility as the work progresses, so that later disruption can be avoided.

The different stages of the construction, each inhabitable and addressing the specific needs of the growing family (click to enlarge). 

 

Sharing knowledge and experience

One of our "assembly manuals", explaining to the clients how to build the self-standing internal timber structure (click to enlarge)

We extensively used SketchUp to communicate with our self-building clients, providing them with updated detailed 3D model of the design. Since they had no former experience in carpentry, we also created a series of clear and user-friendly visualisations to explain how the different parts of the structure fitted together with simple assembling techniques and components that could be lifted and handled with limited equipment and muscle-power!

Rewarding their amazing building skills and painstaking attention to details, our clients were even elected in 2012 Self-Builders of the Year by the French magazine Autoconstruction!

The construction of the barn is completed and our clients are sharing in details the day-by-day progress of this project, and their self-building experience, on their project blog. 

“Thanks to 2hD for their outstanding work!
With the 3D model, we can browse, move and observe every corner of the building: a true manual that allows us to reproduce on site what has been imagined by the architects.”
— Béranger Hau, client and self-builder
More articles about the Gabillou barn conversion:
Photos of the converted barn in Gabillou
Photos of the converted barn in Gabillou
Our self-builder clients share hands-on experience
A visit to the self-built barn
A visit to the self-built barn
Phase 2 already well underway in the Gabillou barn
Phase 2 already well underway in the Gabillou barn
A barn conversion in Dordogne
Gabillou barn clients voted self-builders of the year!
Self-build timber structure
Self-build timber structure
Rejointoyage
Rejointoyage
Finishing touch
Finishing touch
2hD at Lincoln Architecture Society
2hD at Lincoln Architecture Society
Chapeau et bottes

Self-build land shelter gets its roof

Tom Hughes

I spend a great couple of days helping put the roof on the shelter Alina designed for Iona School in Nottingham. The shelter structure consists of 8 larch tree trunks supporting a circular deck and a plywood reciprocal frame roof. Now topped with turf it blends in with its woodland setting from some angles and takes on an almost temple-like appearance from others. The shelter will be used as an outdoor classroom for pupils at the school, which offers Steiner education with activities often based on the land. 

You can find out more about the shelter, the build process and the people involved at the project blog.