International studio (53.1914)

Recent Designs in Domestic Architecture

store has been placed in the corner of the courtyard
in order to balance the grouping : it has also been
adapted as a pigeon cote. There is a raised
terrace on the south side paved with red bricks
laid in patterns, the main roof being brought over
to form a shelter so that meals can be served here
in the summer months.
The majority of architects in the course of their
practice come to specialise in one or other type of
building and Messrs. Gerald Unsworth and Inigo
Triggs have devoted their attention to the develop-
ment of domestic architecture upon the broad
traditional lines that marked the buildings of the late
William Frederick Unsworth, examples of which
have been illustrated in this magazine and in “The
Studio Year Book of Decorative Art” at various
times. A country house recently erected from their
designs is shown in the coloured illustration here
given. Stoke Barn is a typical example of a woodland
house, and every care has been taken to preserve
the natural surroundings of a singularly beautiful
site. It will be seen that the site of the house
itself covers a considerable area, the length from
end to end being about 175 feet. The irregularity of
the plan has been suggested by the aspect and views,
and it will be observed that the principal room is
so placed as to get a maximum of sunlight and air.
As befits a house on such a site, half timbered
construction enters largely into the design. The
difficulties of obtaining thoroughly seasoned oak
led the architects to make use of oak timbers from
old buildings weathered to a fine silvery hue, and
the internal oak floors were also obtained from old
buildings. The roof is of old stone slates, which in
their delightful variety of colouring give the house

a homelike appearance hardly attained in other
ways. By the use of old materials of this kind
much of the charm of an old house is obtained
from the very first. The external walls are of hand-
made bricks whose purplish tone is lightened by
dressings of a brighter colour and also by the
occasional use of stone. Stables and garage lie to
the left of the forecourt and have been contrived
to group pleasantly with the house and as far as
such buildings permit have been brought into
obvious relation with the main building. Oak and
teak enter largely into the construction of the
house and the walls of the principal rooms have
been lined with small Dutch bricks.
The villa near Dresden designed by the architect
Dr. Otto Schubert (p. i2i)is situated on the side of
a hill looking due south and commands a very wide
view over the valley of the Elbe, two cogent reasons
for arranging all the living rooms along the one side of
the house. Even in the suburbs of a town and even
on the slope of a hill like this, the one thing that is
expensive in Germany is ground : therefore archi-
tects are compelled to devise compact ground plans
and cannot spread a house over as much ground as
English architects can. The roof is covered with
flat, red tiles in double layers, the rough-cast walls
are tinted a delicate pinkish white, the lineal designs
in the upper stories being incised in the surface and
the square grooves painted a deep yellow ochre.

ACEA

KITCHEN

SERVANTS HALL


SC LLECT

LAPOEC

S EWING

POOM

DQYING PM


BUSINESS P^

DANTQY

DDAWING DOOY

LOBBY

LOGGIA

POOM

SITTING

I M

FLOwEG

L’ ■ M



GROUND FLOOR PLAN
Feet p ■. ■ f.. ■ 1 f - - F ‘ T f ._-z=f° Feet

GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF STOKE BARN, FULMER

GERALD UNSWORTH AND INIGO TRIGGS, ARCHITECTS