Projects

The Cottage

The Cottage is the culmination of over 5 years work by Guy Hollaway Architects’ Principal Partner to realise his own family home. Based on a lifetime of experience, the house features a collection of spaces that transform an 18th Century Cottage into a 21st Century family home. Set within the Kentish countryside this is a house of two sides, a quintessential cottage to the front and an uncompromising kitchen, dining, living space to the rear.

Before the retrofit the Cottage was already a picture of Kentish Charm, however, by modern standards it did not suit the aspirations of today’s living. The project’s aim sought to fully renovate and adapt a non-listed cottage to bring it into the modern era and extend the life well into the next millennium – a juxtaposition of old and new was deliberately captured and a harmony between the two was fastidiously worked on

A key concept behind the functionality of the living space was to challenge conventional thresholds between internal and external. In contrast to the front of the house, the rear glazed façade slides to merge with the external living and pool area, resulting in a fusion of internal and external environments to become one larger, coexisting space.

The garden, outbuilding and pool make the transition from the approach to the private garden seamlessly and strengthen the architectural intent of a limited material palette, reflecting the highest standards of craftsmanship and execution.

Without the usual constraints of client, contractor, budget or programme this project has allowed for each specific item to be considered in situ and developed to its most beautiful, practical and ultimately effortless resolution. Allowing the design solutions to evolve through a collaborative and inherently flexible approach to building has allowed for this unique design led resolution to a complex and challenging brief.

‘The Cottage’ provided the opportunity to experiment within the role of Architect, by blurring the conventional boundaries between Client and Professional. This fluid approach to delivering Guy’s family home, ultimately allowed for innovative solutions that could not be achieved through more traditional design processes.

This project exhibits a contrasting, yet harmonious architectural language that embraces the relationship between old and new and is expressed through a series of carefully considered glazed interfaces that have demanded the highest levels of craftsmanship to realise the end product.

Through this process GHA were able to test ideas and embrace the opportunity of a constantly evolving project, the product of which is an example of GHA’s passion and ability for delivering complexity and executing precision.

www.guyhollaway.co.uk

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