Harmony between old and new
Millar + Howard Workshop for Elmore Court
Contract value: £760,000
GIA: 440m2
Converting Elmore Court estate into a top wedding venue to ensure its viable future required an event space. Sited at the rear of the existing grade II listed house, a friendly old wall steers you towards the entrance, gentle handing you over to the ever so touchable rammed earth of the new building. The earth, dug from the site, has perfect qualities for such walls, which are then finished and waterproofed with bees wax. Sheets of stained reinforcement mesh adorn the external walls in anticipation of planting that will cloak parts of the building.
The space, cleverly zoned into dining and dancing areas, is lit by view-framing windows to the side and rear and from above by enchanting shafts of light from the lantern-style clerestory that refract though the melodic glass sculpture. Special praise should be given for the innovative use of materials and the harmony created between the new and old buildings.
See other winners in the RIBA Regional Awards 2015 – South West and Wessex