A marvellous picture library for buildings that may interest you is architecture.com - take a look at the gallery of great buildings. David suggested we look at architectural journals to get an idea of what we liked. I kept returning to the Farnsworth House by Mies. Your architect is a creative individual; what he/she will not appreciate is a load of magazines shoved in front of him with a demand for those windows, that bathroom, this kitchen, that fireplace. Our brief to David was simple.


DESIGN BRIEF FOR NEW BUILD 18 June 2000

We are seeking a building that is outwardly and inwardly 'contemporary.'

What does this mean for us -?

We are enthusiastic about light.
One of us likes steel but we are very happy to have a steel frame building.
We are keen to capture that Lido quality light without the water.
·Homeowners / visitors awareness of volumetric space is also sought.
We hope that the use of glass will blur the borders between the house and garden.
Home and site to be at ease with each other.
We like 'outdoor' living in the summer.
We wish to achieve a SAP rating of 90+ - door/window seals are therefore vital.
Low on going general maintenance - easy replacement of glazing.
We would like to recycle captured rainwater for non-potable uses
We are keen to have the house networked - using Cat5 enhanced wiring. A high degree of building control systems is to be incorporated by my company. Climate/security/Web access/ lighting.

Having two children who will become teenagers (oh joy!) we are keen that they have their own space (in the Urals) when they have friends home. (Sufficiently large rooms or dual usage of space in the house.)

We are keen to have a very well ordered home - perhaps described best as 'soft' minimalist.
The challenge of an outwardly contemporary building in this area (an AONB) will be significant although our site offers advantages.

A Point of Note:
The Farnsworth House is an elegant structure. Mies believed that the house had never been properly understood. "I was in the house myself from morning till evening. I had never known till then what splendid colours nature could display. The interior must therefore be kept neutral in tone because there are all the colours outside. These colours are continually changing throughout the day and it is simply marvellous." That about sums up what we are keen to achieve but with a few other additional key objectives as you can see.