Damerell House

A single-storey load-bearing brick construction with a flat roof, the Damerell house adopted a sequential plan that began with the garage, and led through the kitchen, dining room and living room to bedrooms at the more secluded end. A ceremonial route alongside the dwelling had a protective curved canopy and heralded the main entry placed centrally in a classical manner. The children had their own wing, with bedrooms and a bathroom opening off a playroom, attached to the kitchen by a glazed link.

The entire south wall of the main living space, opening to the garden, was glass, with the chimney and the greater part of the fireplace set outside it and supporting the roof structure. Storey-height twin parabolic roof lights, finished internally in gypsum plaster to show off the client’s wares, presented clerestory sunlight to the living area both morning and evening, and transformed the flat roof.

Two white columns demarcated the lounge from the dining area, where the only natural light came through a circular roof light set in a black enamelled ceiling over the table. Natural lighting to the bathroom area was via a glazed wall consisting of two layers of ply glass enclosing a sheet of translucent silk. The kitchen was comprehensively fitted with purpose-made cabinets containing the latest electrical appliances, with a double-glazed servery to the dining area. Parabolic canopies extended over the two entrances to indicate their location and offer protection.

All images courtesy of Architectural Press/RIBA Library Photographs Collection