The architects were pleased with the overall condition of the house after a thorough survey, which made the restoration task easier – the supporting structures could be left intact. However, the appearance and the layout of the building did not meet modern requirements for design and comfort.
Originally, the kitchen and bathrooms were located in the back of the mansion, far from the living rooms and dining room, which, according to the designers, was inconvenient from the point of view of modern city dwellers.
To realize this creative idea for interior design, the architects needed to highlight two features common to pre-war buildings of this type – the glazed roof and the ventilation shaft. The importance of this architectural element was emphasized with the help of water: masters equipped on the first floor amazing decorative pool with fish. Next to the swimming pool is the staircase to the second floor – very light, almost weightless.
The old ventilation shaft was modernized with the help of modern technology. A sliding glass roof and automatically controlled ventilation systems keep the mansion at a comfortable temperature at all times.
On the second floor, one wing of the house has the master bedroom and bathroom, and the other wing has the children’s rooms. Special custom doors have been installed in hazardous areas of the house. They can easily be removed when the children are older.
In this way they visually enlarged the space and created a feeling of lightness and a kind of airiness. But that’s not all. The biggest surprise awaits anyone who climbs on the roof of the building – an open terrace with a landscaped pool, the sides of which do not protrude from the water, and with the same beautiful view of the surrounding nature as in the master bedroom.
The result is a house that from a distance looks like a pre-war townhouse with a store on the first floor, but without retaining the atmosphere of the period. One could say that this modern, luxurious mansion is living in the present time only, forgetting its past.
What were the main design elements and modifications incorporated by Richard Ho Architect in the renovation of the pool in the Cairnhill Road Project? How did the architect manage to enhance the overall aesthetics and functionality of the pool area while preserving its original charm?