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Is this your biggest window wall?
It’s the biggest I could get. I wanted it big. The whole
thing about the Paarhammer product is this lovely gliding
system and the gutsiness of that timber frame. We could
have done it in aluminium. There’s many ways we could
have done it. But the overall effect of that softness of the
wood and the matte of the time of years on the wood,
plus the big sheets of glazing just gave it breathing space.
It’s appropriate to the scale. We wanted dramatic. It’s
thermally brilliant. We just love the whole effect.
What other qualities do you try to engender?
Beyond the usual spatial needs such as bedrooms and
bathrooms etc. what does it do to your emotions? Why
do you enjoy living there? What is it about coming home
to that house that keeps the enjoyment going? It’s these
surprises, these elements of space that are like lungs.
It’s like breathing when entering through a lower ceiling
and coming out to a higher ceiling. And the effects we
can create with the light add to the continual enjoyment
and discovery of space. We often get people writing to
us years later saying, “Look, I get up and I just love living
here.” That’s our product. That’s our style. Someone that
loves living in the house. That to me is everything.
Your windows bring alive the surrounding trees and sky.
Yes, I’m absolutely amazed at glass. To take sand and turn
it into glass that can also be structural. It’s just the most
amazing ingredient. When I first went to the United States
in the ‘80s and saw handrails in sheets of glass take on a
structural quality, I just knew that the future had to be
building bigger and bigger elements of glass. Now we
bring in the whole environmental business of thermal
qualities. Now we’re into double-glazing, triple-glazing.
We don’t have the extremes of the European climate,
but the Europeans have really mastered the use of glass.
It’s a remarkable technology given all the elements of
construction – lifting these sheets, installing them in
a high-rise and allowing for wind loads. I just think glass
is amazing.
“We felt quite comfortable
in doing a very, very bold
home. Our clients wanted
some drama. That’s what
we went for.”
GARY CATT, ARCHITECT