Functions of daily life – United Kingdom
Set within a leafy secluded suburban area of Bearsden, Glasgow , United Kingdom, the ER Residence was developed as a simple one to two storey four bedroom house within a former vacant plot. Previously a domestic tennis court, the confines of the site are strongly defined by a perimeter of mature Scots pine trees. The project was conceptually conceived as a brick house that masters a subservient open-plan pavilion to its long narrow site between two existing residential properties.
Designed by McGinlay Bell architects, intentionally domestic in scale and familiar in form the house incorporates multiple narratives from garden pavilion to courtyard house. A series of courtyards cut from the plan modulate the volume of the pavilion defining clear open plan zones for living, dining, hosting and relaxation.
Externally these courtyards create a series of breakout spaces offering common points of orientation within the house. The form of the building has been carefully considered to respond to the proportions of the neighbourhood buildings while brick has been chosen as the dominant material to create a visual coherence and a feeling of robustness and longevity. Continuity between the architecture and landscape was fundamental to the studio’s designed approach where the manipulation of materiality, mass, light and space aimed to root the building to the site while comfortably locating the building in a wider landscape.
The client is a young professional couple who looked to relocate from their West End townhouse to a new build house that was greater aligned with their current living demands. Their aspiration was for a contemporary and well crafted four bedroom dwelling with open plan living spaces that would cater for different functions of daily life as well as providing suitable backdrop for entertaining friends and family. Given the leafy setting, they also looked to exploit the views of mature pine trees that defined the site and to explore the different lighting conditions throughout the day which would provide character to the living spaces.
