Architecture

Ancient defense tower becomes a sleek home

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The 1880 defense tower, located in the Suffolk wetlands
The 1880 defense tower, located in the Suffolk wetlands
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British home designer Duncan Jackson recently joined forces with architectural firm Piercy Conner to transform an 1880 defense tower in Suffolk, England into a stylish and accommodating home. The defense tower, being a historically-registered building, was transformed whilst maintaining its structural appearance and integrity. The project came with a list of obstacles, including the tower's round structure, minimal windows, 12 foot-thick walls and wetlands environment. Despite these hurdles, the joint venture successfully created a contemporary home with an abundance of light, warmth and a streamlined interior design.

The first floor houses the bedrooms. Although it has no windows, it leads onto the central circular staircase, designed to filter natural light throughout the entire home. An inconspicuous metal roof was positioned above the top brick line to incorporate a circle of windows. This simple design element allows light to flow throughout the home, without disturbing the original look of this protected building.

In addition, an abundance of lighting tubes draw light into the living spaces, whilst also dramatizing the natural pattern of the ancient stone walls.

A single main entrance leads through to a large storage room, once used for housing armaments and cannonballs.

It is hoped that the unique approach taken to this project could inspire the transformation of ancient defense towers or other protected structures around the world.

Via Inhabitat

View gallery - 9 images
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13 comments
David Larson
i wouldn\'t exactly call \"1880\" ancient.
Matt Rings
Neat look... but lots of brick to heat and/or cool. Wonder how having all-brick walls affects the energy conservation? Probably VERY slow to change temperatures inside the building due to the thermal mass of the brick in contact with the living airspace...
Facebook User
I don\'t know why, exactly, but it rankles that \"ancient\" is used to describe something that is less than 200 years old. By that usage the United States is ancient, the civil war is ancient, the steam engine is ancient. See what I mean?
Facebook User
Matt: the thermal mass probably makes it VERY energy-efficient. Being \"slow to heat and cool\" means that it probably maintains a relatively stable interior temperature even without climate control, in much the same way that an underground house does.
Daryl Sonnier
Actually, the steam engine is ancient. They were first in use in ancient Greece, but were thought of as a child\'s toy. It was centuries later before they were used to perform work.
Terotech
The tower may be 1880\'s but the conversion isn\'t \"contemporary\"......it looks to be ultra modern.
Facebook User
It is probably more valuable to leave the old tower as is so that younger generations still can learn about the history and old buildings rather than turning it into a fancy house for someone\'s ego.
Bruce Williams
That building is not ancient...my Latin teacher was ancient.
Fred Meyers
Nice to rent for a day. Definitely not a home, unless I am missing a \"whole bunch of windows\" in the images.
Jacob William
I don\'t want to knock this too much, because it\'s certainly a good way to reclaim an old building... but my gosh that\'s an ugly add on. I would have kept that ultra modern crap well away. I\'m thinking they should have kept primarily to glass on top. It would have been more in keeping with the stone, still stylish, and more light.