The Architect was Acme. The Client was Confidential. The Contractor was Willow Builders. The Structural Engineer was AKT. The Services Engineer was Hoare Lea. The Gross internal area reached 215 sq m.
Hunsett Mill became a very specific response to a very specific space: an arcadian setting on the Norfolk Broads. The windmill and its out-buildings emerged on jigsaws, postcards and chocolate boxes as a famous view from narrow boats. The new building was envisaged as a shadow sitting within the site lines of the retained cottage so that the new building was unseen from that specific viewpoint.
The new building was wrapped in black, charred timber so that it was truly a shadow; with flush glazing that increased to the sense of insubstantiality. The overall impact was very arresting – more akin to the response to a piece of art than to a piece of rural, domestic architecture.
The judges savored the constant inventiveness of Acme’s approach seeking new materials. Intriguing structural forms was used to create interesting forms, values and visual effects. The building was applied as a weekend/holiday home by a number of families based in London and Hertfordshire. This gave the interiors to continue the inventiveness and drama of the exterior forms without too many domestic constraints.
The roof forms created a series of linked gables that were asymmetric but rhythmic. Internally the structural timber slab was disclosed to the rooms but further changes of angle were increased to create a series of interesting spaces, with the first floor walkway to the bedrooms particularly special.
Overall the restoration of the cottage and the new building was an exciting and intellectually stimulating response to the unique rural setting. A cultured client allowed free reign to the innovation of his chosen architects Acme and engineers Adams Kara Taylor.
Good architecture could be brought on a budget and that it could be reached in the most restrictive of situations. The resulting project equalized value and quality.
An extension in the form of a shadow of the original house, which was described as more akin to a piece of art than a piece of rural, domestic architecture, was created.
According to Ruth Reed, President of the RIBA, Hunsett Mill, was a good architecture, results from one simple, strong idea. Instead of creating either a pastiche of the Victorian red-brick cottage, or a self-effacing glass box, the architects’ truly inventive solution was creating a kind of triple-shadow of the original, in black charred timber, crossed by the shadow of the neighboring windmill’s arms. A private house commission allowed the architect an opportunity to get inside the ambitions of the client and produce a shared personal statement. The building was a type in which every detail matters and in which they matter to client and architect in equal measure. Houses like Hunsett Mill did not established without the extraordinary faith in and commitment to the architects by their clients. The RIBA was grateful to HSBC Private Bank for its strong support of this award.
According to Declan Sheehan, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Private Bank, Private homebuilding and redevelopment became increasingly popular with owners expecting more from their homes. Developing the own property was particular expectations and potentially more difficult requirements could be met, as Hunsett Mill brilliantly demonstrated. As a bank provided unrivalled property expertise for private clients, an award that recognized superb design and innovation was supported.
The five other shortlisted houses were:
• Bateman’s Row, London by Theis and Khan
• Furzey Hall Farm, Gloucestershire by Waugh Thisleton Architects
• Leaf House, London by James Gorst Architects
• Martello Tower Y, Suffolk by Piercy Conner Architects with Billings Jackson Industrial Design
• Zero Carbon House, Birmingham by John Christophers
This extension house on the Norfolk Broads by London studio Acme won the RIBA Manser Medal 2010 for the best new house in the UK. It was called Hunsett Mill. The house design comprised extending the existing mill house by adding several volumes with pitched roofs uncurling from behind the original structure. These volumes were concealed behind the original brick building from specific viewpoints. The new part of the unique house was covered in black charred timber. Photographs were by Cristobal Palma.
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