Artists Cottage, Roche Court
East Winterslow, England
Munkenbeck + Marshall Architects

A country setting plays host to a tiny jewel of a gallery

© Arcaid

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

The small infill project is set within the overall layout of a traditional English country house with many living spaces and outbuildings. It is created from one of these outbuildings, a former dairy, that has been replaced with the new gallery. The space serves several functions: as an accommodation for visitors to the sculpture park; as a residence for artists that are spending time at Roche installing their work in the sculpture gallery or the park; and lastly, as a gallery for showing small pieces of sculpture in a domestic setting.

The building is adjacent to an existing stable block and forms an edge to a courtyard with a beautiful magnolia tree. At the same time as the artist house was constructed, an extension to the existing groundsmans house was formed. This takes the form of a simple brick enclosure with traditional windows matching the main house. This extension and the stable block act as ?book ends? to the artists' house.

The artists' house is constructed from rendered load-bearing block work, oak doors and shutters, and large sheets of frameless glass. The space is on two levels with bathroom and bedroom on the ground floor and main pyramid-roofed living space on the upper level. The kitchen is within this space but is hidden behind oak panels. A small utility room and library are positioned just off this living space. The large glazed openings reveal an ever-changing vista of nature throughout the seasons.

Formal name of Project:
Artists Cottage, Roche Court

Location:
East Winterslow, England

Gross square footage:
2,131 sq ft

Total construction cost:
$344,606

Owner:
Lady Bessborough

Architect:
Munkenbeck + Marshall Architects
135 Curtain Road
London, EC2A 3BX
Tel:020 7739 3300
Fax:020 7739 3390