11 minute read
La Ronde Cheminée
Architect Andrew Dyke has spent his career creating properties for other people to enjoy. But his latest project has been something even more personal - his own home. Situated within the natural beauty of L’Ancresse common, La Ronde Cheminée takes its inspiration both from the landscape it sits in and Andrew’s previous work to create something truly unique.
I FEEL THAT BUILDINGS ARE FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST THE OWNER LIVING INSIDE. HOUSES SHOULD BE AS NICE TO LOOK AT FROM THE OUTSIDE AS THEY ARE FOR THE PERSON LIVING IN THEM. WE SHOULD RESPECT BOTH THE ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER PEOPLE, AND THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO PUT THAT INTO PRACTICE.
When Andrew Dyke’s wife Helen first found the property where La Ronde Cheminée now sits, they decided to buy it for their son and daughter-in-law to occupy. But when their son and his wife moved back to the UK after only 18 months, they decided the outstanding location created an opportunity that was just too good to miss.
“It was such a wonderful site. It’s got a walled flower meadow with wild orchids right outside the house. There is no road as the house is approached by a track, and it’s 100 yards from the sea. It is such a beautiful, peaceful spot and I decided I simply had to do something on the site.”
That ‘something’ has evolved into a house that both stands out with its carefully thought-out design and high-quality build, but also blends into the surrounding landscape. For Andrew, that was key to his approach.
“I never wanted to build a big glass box. The really important thing for me was that I wanted to respect the landscape. That has always been a theme for me throughout my career – whether it’s the urban landscape or listed buildings, I feel that buildings are for everyone, not just the owner living inside. Houses should be as nice to look at from the outside as they are for the person living in them. We should respect both the environment and other people, and this was a really good opportunity for me to put that into practice.”
The house previously on the site was a small, fairly unattractive bungalow. But while nothing remains visually of that property, it had a significant influence on Andrew’s new home – which has actually been built around the former house.
“I started with the premise of wanting to do something that would fit into the landscape but I also needed a larger footprint than the previous house had. But I could see with the right design that parts of the bungalow could be used without changing walls as long as we were happy to have slightly smaller bedrooms etc.”
MY TOUCHSTONE WHEN IT CAME TO THE DESIGN WAS THE LOOK AND FEEL OF A SCANDINAVIAN BEACH HOUSE. THE LARCH IS CLEARLY INFLUENCED BY THAT, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE, AND THE COLOUR SCHEMES ARE VERY REFLECTIVE OF THAT THEME AS WELL.
“Reducing the impact on the environment has been important to me throughout my career, and I really wanted to put that into practice when it came to my own home. I thought it would be wasteful to simply knock the existing bungalow down and start afresh, so I carefully thought about how I could use it. It’s become a bit of a cliché that it’s cheaper to knock things down and start again, and it’s not always true. This way, we got to reuse the foundations, floors and walls which has saved time, money and the environment.”
Along with the ‘old’ part of the house, a link has been created to the ‘new’, which, combined with increasing the pitch of the roof, allowed Andrew the space they required within a relatively small footprint. As well as bedrooms, living space and a kitchen and dining area, Andrew needed to fit a studio into the house and separate garaging for his cars.
“I was restricted with where the house sat on the site because of the wild orchid meadow, which I was clearly keen to preserve in its entirety. We therefore basically kept the footprint to where the lawn of the old bungalow had been so that we didn’t do any damage to the meadow.”
While Andrew describes the house as relatively ‘modest’, it is nonetheless impressive – with its airy feel and connection to its outside space making it feel generous. Aesthetically, it has an architect’s touches all over it with the attention to detail second to none. From the handcrafted kitchen to the bespoke library with its converted harbour ladder, every aspect has been carefully thought through. “My touchstone when it came to the design was the look and feel of a Scandinavian beach house. The larch is clearly influenced by that, both inside and outside of the house, and the colour schemes are very reflective of that theme as well. The stone walls reflected the common around the property while the pebbles were influenced by the nearby beaches. Using the environment for inspiration meant the space really evolved fairly naturally once the basic design was in place.”
Andrew and Helen bought the property five years ago, but work didn’t start on site until October 2019. While the past couple of years have been tricky for everyone in the industry, site manager Karl Strobl of F Watson & Son says the property faced challenges from the start: “It was a very wet winter that year, and obviously where the house sits the water table is very high so that caused quite a few problems initially when we were trying to dig the foundations.
“Once we’d got over those issues, Covid hit which affected us badly. Throughout the island’s lockdowns we obviously couldn’t do anything on site which put us behind schedule. Luckily because of the isolated nature of the house we were able to get a small number of people back on site early on, but we still faced all the logistical problems with getting materials into the island etc.”
Despite the challenges, the project was finished around two years after its start, and for Karl it was a satisfying process: “In my line of work I learn something new most days, but this pushed the boundaries
so much I learned a great deal. It was really good to work with Andrew – he’s such a passionate man when it comes to building. He was so specific about what he wanted that it made us really think about and understand what we were creating. Even the touches that I wasn’t sure about it at the time, such as putting ormer shells among the stones in the fireplace, have worked brilliantly. It’s all come together really well and I’m really proud to have played a part in that.”
Now that the house is finished, Andrew is looking forward to moving into La Ronde Cheminée in the near future to fully enjoy the home he has created.
“I feel very happy with it – it’s a place where I feel very calm and contented. I’m also delighted that the job went so well as it was such a team effort for everyone who worked with it. Being recognised by my peers when it recently won the inaugural Mitch Sneddon award [at the Guernsey Design Awards] was the icing on the cake.”
“I don’t want to boast about it, as it really is quite a modest house, but it’s exactly what I wanted. The irony of it is that many architects are looking to create something truly iconic with their designs – my approach to this house was almost to do the opposite. I wanted the house to meld into the landscape and almost go unnoticed, although I do still enjoy hearing the positive comments when people have noticed and appreciated it.”
GOING GREEN
The external colour scheme of La Ronde Cheminée helps it blend into its surrounding landscape, but the property’s ‘green’ credentials go a lot further than that for Andrew.
“During my career, it has become more and more important to me to recognise the importance of taking great care of our environment and treading as lightly as we can on it. Reusing materials is a great way to do that, and something I was keen to do as much as possible with the house. I was very conscious of ensuring that the materials we used are either recyclable or are not going to have an adverse effect on the environment at the end of their lifetime.” Retaining the former bungalow was one way of helping with the build’s environmental impact, but it still required plenty of effort to ensure it suited modern requirements.
“We wrapped the old bungalow in a thick layer of insulation and breathable membranes as well as the larch cladding. The whole house is very well insulated – while it wasn’t designed as a Passivhaus it is certainly very close in terms of performance. With the large amount of insulation and the green roof, it is very energy efficient.”
While the insulation helps reduce energy consumption, what is needed can be largely provided through the use of renewable energy. The installation of solar and PV panels on the house, along with a Tesla battery for storage, has ensured some very low electricity bills to run the new property.
SET IN STONE
The stonework on the house is clearly one of its defining features, from the very distinctive round chimney to the side elevation and stone walling.
For stonemason Dave Bourgaize of Granite Le Pelley, it was a challenging but ultimately very rewarding job. For most of the stonemasonry, he had sole responsibility on site – working closely with Andrew to ensure he was fulfilling his vision.
“It was a big responsibility but it was something I really enjoyed,” said Dave. “You rarely get the opportunity to do a whole project like that singlehandedly, so I was very grateful to my boss for allowing me to work on it and to Andrew for allowing the time for it to be done by one person. I think that did make a big difference to the final product as it ensures it is all very consistent rather than being completed by different people.”
“Andrew had a very clear idea of what he wanted – from the appearance to the specific colour of the stone. The end result is definitely his vision but I was very glad to contribute to it. I really enjoyed working down there and I’m very proud of what we achieved.”
The round chimney that gives the house its name was inspired by a previous design of Andrew’s that he
STONEMASONS • NATURAL STONE SPECIALISTS
We are celebrating our 40th year trading as Granite Le Pelley and are proud to have recently completed the stone work at La Ronde Cheminée. We followed the client’s specification to ensure the building sat within its rural setting seamlessly and also to look as if it were built hundreds of years ago.
You’ll see outstanding examples of our work all around you. Craftsmen, creating the right impression with stone.
Tel. 01481 257610 enquiries@granitelepelley.gg www.granitelepelley.gg
Garenne House Garenne Park Rue de la Cache St. Sampsons Guernsey GY2 4AF
was keen to reflect in the new property. An unusual approach for the island, it gave the contractors plenty of challenges.
“It certainly took me a little while to fully understand what Andrew was trying to achieve with it,” said Dave. “Karl helped with setting it all up so that we could get the shape of the chimney and then it was a case of working our way up to the top, where it was finished off with a distinctive large round stone sat on four pebbles.”
Inside the house, the pebbles are also a real feature, with the stone chimney a focal point of the living space. Here Andrew added yet another personal touch, with half a dozen ormer shells inserted amongst the stone.
The stone used at the property was mainly sourced locally, and is largely a mixture of local stone to reflect Andrew’s desire to reuse and recycle. Guernsey pebbles, however, are not available for use in building projects, so these were sourced from Scotland and brought down to the island.
For Andrew, the stonework was one of the most satisfying parts of the project, “I’m delighted with it and think that Dave did a wonderful job. I had a clear idea of what I wanted and he managed to achieve that despite all the challenges.”
THE CONTRACTORS
CCD Architects F Watson & Son Little Green Energy Co DLA Engineers Granite Le Pelley Paul’s Joinery Marcel Laine Peter Head EIG Style Plumbing and Heating
Style Plumbing and Heating is a family business owned and run by Peter Sheppard. We have a journeyman service for all those little plumbing jobs others don’t want to do. We service Unvented Cylinders, Pressure Pumps Sets, Solar Systems as well as being the local service agents for Aqualisa and Bristan shower products, Kingspan, Tribune and Ultrasteel Cylinders and Salamander shower pumps.
All our plumbers are fully qualified in all aspects of plumbing and heating, completing domestic and commercial work every day right across the island.
For all enquiries:
Tel: 01481 740450 Mobile: 07781 165220 Email: styleph@suremail.gg
Unit 7 Fineshade Centre, Les Baissieres, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2UE
