Robert Adam's Classicism beats Ushida Findlay's Modernism in the country
- Published: 04 August 2008 18:00
- Author: Richard Waite
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- Last Updated: 05 August 2008 12:14
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Robert Adam has won planning permission for this Classical country house in Cheshire, and in doing so says he has smashed the myth that only Modernist houses win permission under the PPS7 'country house clause'.
Grafton Hall, which was recently approved by Chester City Council, will be built instead of Ushida Findlay's ultra-Modernist, competition-winning 'starfish' scheme from 2001.
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Despite scooping the RIBA' s New Modern Country House contest seven years ago Ushida Findlay failed to find a financial backer and was eventually mothballed.
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Now Adam believes he has shattered any preconceptions that country houses have to be Modernist to comply with the term 'innovative' in the little-used clause – a term thought by many to preclude Classical designs.
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He said: 'There's an assumption about PPS7 that it is about style. But it is not about style.
'If you look at the definition of innovation in the dictionary it talks about the modification of things.
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'You can design something Classical but can still innovate,' Adam added. 'For instance I've looked at a new, variation of the Corinthian capital and at a different treatment of the base which have been combined in the entrance elevation.'
Adam, who has worked with Atelier Ten on the £15 million project, insists the scheme also meets the ' exceptionally demanding Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5' and will become design as an exemplar of sustainability.'
