SPACE HOUSE
Location: West Sussex
Client: Private
Space House is a design classic in the tradition of the Californian Case-Study programme, built in the mid-sixties by Peter Foggo and David Thomas, and conceived as a prototype for future housing. The house comprises a series of braced steel trusses supported from eight stanchion columns, with timber-frame walls, floors and roof slung between, and with large areas of plate glass. The ‘H’-shaped plan is made up of a central service core, opening onto front and rear terraces, with living and bedroom wings flanking on either side.
The house remained in the possession of the original owner until his death in 2002, when it was bought by the current owners. By then it had become somewhat dilapidated, and had suffered from unsympathetic alterations. Lee/Fitzgerald fully restored this iconic building to its original light and calm state, whilst thoroughly upgrading bathroom and kitchen facilities. The practice also deemed it necessary to address one of the few design faults with the original layout, and improve the connection between the interior and the terrace deck overlooking the garden.
The refurbishment of Space House won the RIBA Conservation Award 2004.