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Thomas House
Thomas House
Tonbridge, United Kingdom
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Thomas House
Tonbridge, United Kingdom
The Thomas House is a detached private residence in rural Kent set in an area of protected landscape. The existing building suffered from a number of poorly considered developments since it was built in the 1930s, resulting in spaces which were impractical, lacked natural light and had no direct relationship with the large garden. The existing building had already exceeded it’s development rights, meaning the space within the existing envelope had to be maximised in order to fullfill the requirements of the brief.The brief we were given by the client was challenging as it consisted only of four words; entertaining, unpredictable, light and texture. From these words we had to extrapolate a design narrative which drew upon the site, the client's interests and our own influences which included artists Carl Andre, Donald Judd and Isamu Noguchi as well as the films of David Lynch.The final scheme sets up direct relationships between the internal and external spaces of the house, considering the spaces within the building as part of the landscape. The importance we placed on improving the relationship between the house and the grounds was pivotal to the success of the planning application. The open quality of the interior spaces provides a great deal of flexibility to accommodate changes in the living circumstances of the client. During the project the clients living arrangements changed with marriage. The spaces in the property were designed to be flexible, accommodating new additions to the family and could be reconfigured accordingly. The design provides focused views of the landscape and introduces controlled daylight and sunlight into the heart of the property.Key elements in the design; the fireplace; the staircase box; the kitchen block; the void and the view, act as focal points. All provide moments of material richness within the building and reference the material quality and textures of the surrounding landscape in their detailing. The materials chosen were locally sourced and naturally finished wherever possible.The fireslab was commissioned and developed with blacksmith Jim Horrobin and a local craftsman, Michael Court, worked with Foster Lomas to develop the solid oak kitchen. These items were commissioned independantly of the main contract in order to provide the client with value for money and ensure the highest levels of quality in their production. The double height void acts as the pivotal space in the scheme connecting all the other spaces and providing a sense of drama and scale when you first arrive.The project was short listed for the Architects Journal Small Projects Awards 2005 and exhibited at the RIBA, London. It has been widely featured in many publications such as the Evening Standard newspaper, The Observer newspaper, Icon design magazine, Grand Designs magazineand the Architects Journal.
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