A mother and daughter collaboration created a bespoke city pad that shows just how much can be achieved on brownfield sites, even picking up a design award
TEXT & IMAGES EWEN MACDONALD
Bristol has long been a trend-setting place. So, it is not surprising that the Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) would find something award-worthy among the city’s recent residential projects.
And they have found it in Corten Courtyard House. This L-shaped building has transformed a derelict piece of brownfield land to create a new home for Jane Krivine, who was searching for a permanent home near her daughter, Sophie, partner and new grandson, in the now- trendy St Werburghs district of the city.
But even she was surprised just how close she would find herself to her daughter, after choosing to take on a long-derelict piece of waste ground next door to create what would turn out to be an award-winning home. Jane lived abroad at the time and liked to visit at least four or five times a year, but her long term plan was to move to Bristol.
“Sophie lives in the last house in an Edwardian row, and next to it there was a triangle of land, surrounded by a high wall and hardly big enough for a house, never mind a house and garden, but it was up for sale.” Despite these challenges, she was immediately intrigued by its possibilities, pondering whether “maybe, with the right architect, something could be done.”
The site had held a car body shop, but it had been derelict for decades, and its outside walls were covered in graffiti. “The entrance in the wall was wide enough to drive a car through,” she says, “or perhaps in Edwardian times, a cart or a carriage.”
Despite being a self-build first-timer, Jane wasn’t daunted, partly because her daughter had some experience, “I had no experience with renovations, but my daughter had just added a floor to her house.” Sophie, despite being a new mum, oversaw the building work on Jane’s site, being next door. To avoid mother-daughter disputes, Jane agreed Sophie would be pretty free to make decisions.
“The single thing above all that made it doable for me was my mum’s character,” explains Sophie. “She is both adventurous but also very understanding. I never for one moment worried that she would be angry or upset with me if I made a big mistake, so it allowed me to make all sorts of decisions with a kind of self- belief that people do not readily get from their bosses or clients.
I worked in television for a number of years, so lots of ‘spinning plates’ doesn’t really worry me. Of course, there was the odd bit of bickering and the occasional disagreement, but we would take a straw poll where necessary! I had a bit of a vision once Barefoot (the architects) had realised their own, so I ploughed through with it!”
THE DESIGN
While many people will choose an architect based on case studies or even ideas, Jane and Sophie made it from a more original source. “My daughter met Sam (Goss, director at Barefoot), and as soon as he saw the little cobbled courtyard, his excitement became completely infectious, and she convinced me that this was the company to go with. We were very keen for the property to be eco-friendly, and that was key when we were finding an architect,” adds Jane.
“The initial brief for the project was to convert and extend the 1.5 storey old garage on the site,” explains project architect Martina Goluchová. But the size, shape and location of the existing building didn’t lend itself well to a dwelling. “We proposed a new build courtyard house, and Jane was up for it straightaway.”
Being a brownfield site, there were plenty of challenges that went beyond its unusual shape – not least the significant foundations, which were formed by 15 concrete piles 10 metres deep and a 250 mm concrete raft slab. This was because of the proximity of large trees and the poor ground conditions in the area.
Jane describes it as her only low moment in the build. “We had to dig 10 metres into the ground because St Werburghs is basically built on sand. A lot of the project cost went to the extravagant measures we had to undertake, most frustrating since all the other houses in the neighbourhood have stood for 100 years on one-metre deep foundations!”
The interior layout – around 82 m2 in total – has been designed around the client’s limited mobility and includes a dining kitchen, with the main bedroom and a small living room at each end of the L-shape. Stairs provide access to a second bedroom and a roof terrace, which sits under a big plane tree that had to be accommodated into the design, and with open views along the street and across a nearby park.
The house is timber frame construction, clad in Corten weathered steel, which rises up above the brick boundary wall and descends down into the courtyard.
This Corten-clad wall was the biggest extravagance. “We agonised over it, being the one single item which could push us over the limit,” admits Jane. ”But when we suggested dropping the Corten steel and reverting to brick, we were moved by the expression of sorrow on the architect’s face. So, we simply made other reductions, and I have no regrets.”
The overall look of the finished building is industrial modern/Edwardian classic. “If there can be such a combo,” explains Jane. “The Corten steel and ceiling height windows overlooking the courtyard are blended with Edwardian brick flooring on a tiny outside courtyard, and all surrounded by the original wall.”
The interior is modern, practical and simple. “My daughter insisted on the best quality for everything, which she argued we would be grateful for in the long run. So, we went for colour, simplicity, practicality and quality,” explains Jane. “We were looking for a contemporary feel to match the exterior but we knew we didn’t want a cold look or feel with the decorating, so we went for a warm neutral colour, iron shelving, lots of plants and some bursts of bright colours in the furnishings.”
“Before the build started, the entrance had been painted mint green matching the colour of a little greenhouse in the corner round the back of the derelict property,” she says. “We really wanted to keep some of that colour running through, especially since the ground floor rooms looked onto the courtyard and the entrance.
So, we used mint green for the courtyard entrance, which we had designed to look like the entrance to a factory rather than a classic wooden door, as well as for the staircase inside and the tiling throughout.”
Perhaps one of the more unusual decisions they made was to retain the graffiti on the outside wall. “I am so pleased we kept the Edwardian outside wall with all the original graffiti, which as all Bristolians know, is par for the course,” says Jane, alluding to Bristol’s most famous resident artist, Banksy. “We also have an original Edwardian postbox, which was built into the wall, and is still used.”
The main reason for keeping the wall was that the site felt like an urban oasis; the design was aimed at preserving as much of this quality as possible. “The contrast between the busy street and the quiet courtyard was striking,” says Martina. ”From a practical point of view,
the wall provides good protection to the site which is otherwise very exposed. It is covered in graffiti which is part of the local character and we were realistic about the fact that anything new would get covered in graffiti very quickly.” It also fits in with Barefoot’s philosophy to re-use as much as possible of what is on site to reduce the environmental impact.
In fact, the wall was discovered to be in poor condition and is now cleverly supported by attaching it to a new timber frame.
Jane has plenty of favourite features in the award-winning home. She says: “The other wonderful feature is the roof garden, which on one side overlooks the characterful street life, and on the other, Mina Park with its trees shading part of the roof garden.”
The architect agrees on the roof terrace’s success. “One gets to see all the key elements of the project,” explains Martina. “The shape of the house which is a natural response to the unusual shape of the site, the Corten cladding so carefully executed by the amazing project contractor, the quiet patio paved with the old bricks and the contrasting busy street behind the uneven wall.”
BUILD & RESULTS
The build began in April 2019 after Bristol Council approved the design and took seven months to complete. “Our inspiration was the existing character and feel of St Werburghs,” explains Jane. “The neighbourhood is bursting with creativity and talent and we wanted to complement this as best we could.”
Now a proud holder of a Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) South West Special Award 2021, it’s clear Jane chose well when it came to her designers. “I am absolutely thrilled with all the accolades the house has received. But to be honest, I see this entirely as the achievement of Martina and Sam at Barefoot and our fantastic builders – Space Framing – who put it all together so professionally. My involvement was minimal.”
For the architects, it turned out to be a match made in self-build heaven. “We loved working with Jane and Sophie. Jane is a really amazing client, she was brave to make unusual decisions, such as having her house clad in rusty metal,” says Martina. “She was decisive, and her optimism was a driving force of the project.”
Among the stand-out features is the specially commissioned industrial double entry door.
“We took inspiration from the turquoise colour of the door and reflected it in the house,” adds Jane. “The dining room/kitchen with full size windows overlooking the little courtyard, reflects the entry door with turquoise tiles in the kitchen, it really is quite a feature.’
And her advice to others considering self- building their home? Look for brownfield sites, which offer several practical benefits. “I am especially proud of the fact that we built on a brownfield site. As I look around, I can see so many other derelict areas which could provide wonderful imaginative homes. It makes me sad that people feel they have to buy new houses on large residential estates built in the countryside.”
“People should also remember that if you build from scratch, there is no VAT on material, and if the area is completely derelict, you won’t even have to pay stamp duty!”
She adds: “From a financial perspective, in my case, there was not much difference between building from scratch and buying a finished building.”