Simon Janes Chartered Architectural Technologist
Courtnay
An extensively extended and fully refurbished 1920’s Arts & Crafts Home with basement leisure complex having overall accommodation extending to circa 14,600 ft2.
The Challenge
Having recently acquired the property the client had obtained planning consent for considerable extensions and alterations to the house, the original architects were not in a position to prepare detailed designs for construction of the works and Janes Architectural was approached initially for this purpose. The adopted design was for a two-storey extension and a part basement with snooker room a cinema room.
Janes Architectural were instructed to review the approved designs and refine them where necessary, the existing and proposed loft areas were also to be utilised for further accommodation. In addition, part way through the construction it was decided to add a basement swimming pool complex below the rear lawn!
The Solution
Janes Architectural prepared the detailed design package for the initially designed works along with the works to the loft, and subsequently obtained planning consent and prepared the detailed designs and specifications for the subterranean swimming pool complex. The overall completed design included the following expansive accommodation;
Ground Floor
Expansive entrance hall with walnut staircase and gallery landing.
Formal Drawing room and Dining rooms, separate sitting room and study.
Kitchen / dining room with semi-circular bay window and curved glazing.
Trades entrance with separate staircase and a utility / boot room.
A 13m long Orangery linking the principal reception rooms.
Study with further staircase to the first floor.
A triple garage
First Floor
5 Double bedrooms with dressing rooms and En Suite Bathrooms.
Two bedrooms with external balcony’s.
A spacious landing area with seating and fireplace.
Second Floor
A further bedroom suite and attic storage rooms.
Basement
A bespoke ‘reference standard’ cinema room
Main plant room, storeroom and Cloak room.
Snooker room with bar area.
Large bespoke Wine cellar.
11m swimming pool with spa pool sauna and changing rooms.
Janes Architectural coordinated the mechanical and electrical design which includes electric central heating and hot water supply to the swimming pool plan via four external Air Source Heat pumps. The system also includes solar hot water heating and a small gas boiler to provide back up heat during extreme cold / high demand periods.
Subterranean swimming pool
Adding a below ground pool complex part way through the construction of the main works presented a challenge which we were happy to take on! The superstructure would be required to not only contain the swimming pool shell and floor but would also need to support the garden lawn above! Rather than the pool hall being only accessible from below ground it was also decided to provide external access via the rear grounds which would also afford the opportunity to provide some natural light into the space.
Janes Architectural produced both the detailed design and the interior design for the space with Rockingham Swimming Pools providing the swimming pool and plant design. The Swimming pool was subsequently awarded a prestigious SPATA Gold Award in 2016.
Reference standard cinema room
The basement works include a rather special cinema room designed in conjunction with AV and home automation specialists “Get The Big Picture’.
The room which measures seven by five and a half meters is split level with two tiers of seating. Janes Architectural worked closely with The Big Picture to ensure that the construction of the room met the exacting standards required to achieve reference standard audio and visual quality, ensuring that movies can be experienced exactly as the director intended. I can confirm this has to be seen and heard to be believed!
The Loudspeakers are concealed behind an acoustically transparent cinema screen and also behind the rear and side stretched fabric walls, behind the fabric all of the walls are treated with specialist acoustic panels to help achieve the perfect sound. The seven active speakers and two 12″ subwoofers (which happen to be the same brand as Tom Cruise has in his own cinema), are powered by eleven channels of amplification totaling 5000 Watts!
The screen is the equivalent of around 170 inches in widescreen mode and is motorised to adapt to the exact size of the format being projected; for the technically minded this works in conjunction with an anamorphic lens to ensure that the resolution and brightness of the 3D projector is fully optimised with no grey lines visible at the screen perimeters, hence maximising apparent contrast ratio.
The room finish is contemporary and functional with the emphasis on the optimum viewing experience, with light absorbing darker tones together with colour changing concealed LED lighting to provide some subtle drama whilst viewers are being seated.
