ARCHITECT’S GUIDE BUILDING BESPOKE

Jamie Fobert talks us through three of the details that make this home unique

The brickwork We wanted to create a bold and contemporary building, but one that blended seamlessly into this historic area of London. Most of the properties in the mews are built from London stock brick (handmade bricks produced before the advent of machinery) so we chose a brick that, from a distance, looks consistent. When you approach the house you can see the thumbprint of the man who made each brick in the stone, made when they were pushed out of the moulds. The eco-heating Peter and Troels wanted a swimming pool, but to heat this using electricity from the grid would have been a massive waste of energy. To avoid this we dug 180 metres into the ground using five bore holes to extract ground-heat, which is piped into the house [the free and sustainable heat source can be used for radiators, under-floor heating and warm air heating systems]. The only downside is that this kind of project is a huge investment [£13,000 to £20,000 according to the Energy Saving Trust; energysavingtrust.org.uk]. The joinery We waited until it was possible to stand in each of the rooms before designing the joinery, so that we could get a sense of the space and how the light fell across the interior. We designed the house in layers, adding the joinery as we went. It’s important to get recommendations for a joiner. Make a shortlist, go and see their workshop and be specific in your brief. A joiner is expensive [expect to pay £20 to £25 per hour for carpentry], so ensure that you’re working with the right person. jamiefobertarchitects.com