Replacing a 1970s bungalow, the house is set within a row of detached houses of the same period on the outskirts of Harpenden in Hertfordshire.Graeme Williamson Architects, set up by the former London director of Nord Architects, was appointed to develop preliminary ideas for the clients: a family of four.Inspired by the surrounding conservation area, which is full of Arts and Crafts architecture, the practice was drawn to the surrounding brick chimneys and asymmetric cat-slide roofs. The house therefore takes references from both periods Arts and Crafts and 1970s architecture featuring corbelled brickwork and a monolithic chimney stack.AdvertisementWrapped in brick, the house also features internal details that reference its 1970s context with a traditional layout allowing for generous separation between office and guests.The plan is arranged around two axes. A front-to-rear axis is visible on entry while a transverse axis bookends the kitchen with a stairwell and an interior garden room. These have both been designed to bring lots of natural light and cross ventilation to the centre of the plan.Architects viewThe site in Harpenden falls within a conservation area rich in established examples of Arts and Crafts architecture. The immediate context of the house, however, is a run of detached 1970s homes. We were drawn to this period of house-building, with its distinctive brick chimneys and asymmetric cat-slide roofs and this provided a good starting point for discussions with planning.Formally, the design acknowledges both periods, borrowing corbelled brickwork, a monolithic chimney stack and an asymmetric roof form. The house feels generational and timeless in its language but contemporary in its detail and materiality.Rieder concrete panels are used on the roof and upper storey creating definition in the building's profile. Vande Moortel bricks bring the form to ground wrapping around the perimeter and, as a nod to its 1970s context, appear inside the house in key details.Public and private functions are split traditionally between ground and first floor. A generous separation between office and guests was also sought to allow for space both perceptual and tangible between these additional uses.Organisationally, the plan is arranged around two axes: a front-to-rear axis visible on entry and a transverse axis book-ending the kitchen with the stairwell and an interior garden room, both of which are designed to bring light and cross ventilation to the centre of the plan.Graeme Williamson, director, Graeme Williamson ArchitectsClients viewWe appointed Graeme Williamson Architects to create a home for our family following a recommendation from a family member who had worked with Graeme at Nord Architects in Glasgow. We had not embarked on this kind of process before but felt we developed trust from an early stage and that Graeme Williamson Architects' designs spoke to our brief and offered an enticing vision of what it might be like to live here.The garden room we took some convincing on and some of the external material proposed for the upper storey was something we hadnt expected but both have been innovative and thoughtful additions.While it was certainly stressful in its delivery, and had many challenges along the way, the resultant building is incredibly enriching to live in for our family. The building is generous and welcoming in its social spaces and cosy and quiet where it needs to be. The house is filled with sunlight even on dull days and the materials used are durable but refined. It is a pleasure to live in.Private clientProject dataLocation Harpenden, HertfordshireStart on site October 2021Completion date January 2024Gross internal floor area380m2Form of contract or procurementrouteJCT IntermediateConstruction cost UndisclosedArchitect Graeme Williamson ArchitectsClient PrivateStructural engineer David Carr EngineersQuantity surveyor MeasurSustainability consultant EAL ConsultPrincipal designer Graeme Williamson ArchitectsCDM co-ordinator Graeme Williamson ArchitectsApproved building inspector Prime GroupMain contractor Datum Point ConstructionCAD software used Vectorworks, Rhino