La Maison de Portinfer, Jersey
Design and build excellence proved a success for a project at the Grade 3 listed La Maison de Portinfer in the Jersey Design Awards 2022 – thanks to the efforts of not only the architect, but also the enthusiasm and considerable contribution of the client, who actually headed the construction team.
The scheme, which was ‘Highly Commended’ for the ‘Best Small Scale Building or Extension’ category, involved the construction of a garden room extension to the south elevation of a picturesque previously converted barn in a historic farmstead in St Ouen. The extension was designed by Godel Architects, working together with the client Jolyon Baker, who went to great lengths to ensure the historic authenticity of the construction and commented:
“It was good to have all of our hard work recognised in the awards. The project has really been a great success, everyone did a great job, and we are very happy with the outcome.
“This was an extension to a kitchen area where there were two large barn doors, which were removed, and the extension then constructed out into the garden. The project was very much a ‘labour of love’ for me. I acted as main contractor, building and managing the work alongside my sub-contracted team, including builder Jamie le Tiec. Although Godel Architects designed the extension, this was based very much alongside my design and preferences, and I also sourced all the materials. The work was carried out in close liaison with Tracey Ingle, the Historic Buildings Planning Officer.”
The farmstead is made up of several architecturally and historically important buildings (including a laverie/boulangerie), which exhibit various traditional characteristics. The extension was designed to nestle discretely against its host and to work with the internal flow of the home. The extension is visually subservient to its host building in order to maintain the impact of the host’s ‘U’ plan form.
External walls of the extension were constructed in a mixture of red brick pillar corners and bays, much like an old coach house, with large, oak framed, timber windows and doors, complimented by strong oak lintels, timber infill to the sides, and a roof of reclaimed Jersey slate, continuing the coach house theme. The roof is lined inside with solid French marine pine flooring. The scale, character and materiality expressly reference a traditional ‘cart shed’ form, with careful consideration of the use and proportions of the original barn. Despite its contemporary use and abundant glazing, the internal space and building still feel like parts of a historic farm grouping.
Jolyon Baker said “One of the interesting examples of materials used were the brick pillars emulating the kind of building used to house a cart or a tractor shed. We also used the curved handmade Jersey ‘cob’ bricks, although these could not be found in sufficient quantities on the island. These were therefore sourced by a friend of mine, Gary Pashley of Pashley Products, who found a supplier in Pakistan, who handmade the bricks for us, after they were approved by the planning department.”
He added that to ensure absolute authenticity, the bricks were complimented by lime pointing including sea shells and sea grit, which he added in the mix, in line with traditional pointing used on Jersey farms in the past.
It was also important that the historic features and characteristics of the existing building remained visible, and this was achieved by retaining the historic external openings internally and leaving the rubble granite walls exposed to the inside of the new room, to allow the continued appreciation the detailing and tactility of the historic fabric.
Jolyon Baker said: “I also carried out special landscaping in the garden to compliment the new extension, using a mixture of cement and old bricks, including some that I had found on the beach, which were used in the terrace area to link up with the bricks in the building.
“The project gave us an opportunity to have an open, high headspace which the traditional Jersey farmhouse did not give us before and gives a lovely space to live in all year round.”
The project is an exemplar of considerable skill in co-ordinating a scheme that not only meets the clients’ expectations and planning and building control requirements, but also ensures that the addition sits sympathetically within the realm of the historic barn, the other, nearby historic buildings, and the adjacent historic and rural sites and vistas.
Godel Architects: www.godelarchitects.com
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