FRISTON NEAR ,

£750,000 FREEHOLD

Viewing by appointment with The Modern House are all of an impressively high standard. Reached by an Tel +44 (0)1420 520805 unmade track, the house and gardens have no immediate [email protected] neighbours and offer an entirely private and tranquil www.themodernhouse.co.uk setting.

Situated just over a mile from the heart of Aldeburgh, one of Britain’s most desirable seaside towns, the house is Set in approximately two acres of secluded gardens and also just 5 miles from , a town served by a woodland, overlooking the Alde Estuary, this wonderful train route to and London Liverpool Street. house was designed by architects Michael and Patty Hopkins. Completed in 2000, replacing two 18th century Michael and Patty Hopkins are both directors of Michael gamekeepers’ cottages, the house is largely constructed Hopkins and Partners, an internationally renowned of glass and local Aldeburgh Red brick. practise that has completed many major projects across Britain including the New Parliamentary Building and The house offers generous accommodation, including Underground Station at Westminster, London, the four bedrooms, a large, light living space and an annexe to Manchester City Art Gallery and Glyndebourne Opera the side of the house. The fittings throughout the house House, Sussex. Clockwise from top: Living room with doors to decked terrace; Decked terrace; Rear elevation and garden

selection of shops, restaurants and pubs. The town is also SITUATION renowned for the annual Aldeburgh Music Festival and the Heath and Bird Reserve. A number The house is situated approximately a quarter of a mile of interesting examples of modern architecture can be down an unmade track off Aldeburgh Road. Aldeburgh found in the area, including the house of H. T. Cadbury- Road runs through the village of Friston and forms part of Brown in Aldeburgh (1964) and Snape Maltings (a malt the A1094, a road that links Aldeburgh to the A12 (a main house converted by Arup Associates in 1969 under the artery that runs from central London to Great Yarmouth). instructions of Benjamin Britten). The house enjoys uninterrupted views of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve and the Alde Estuary on one side The house is approximately 5 miles from Saxmundham and the grazing land of Hazelwood Common on the other. railway station which runs commuter services direct to London Liverpool Street (journey time just under two Nearby Aldeburgh is one of Britain’s most attractive hours). The station also runs services to Ipswich, which coastal towns. It offers superb opportunities for walking, offers connections to London Liverpool Street throughout fishing and sailing. The town also provides a good the day. ACCOMMODATION and electric oven and extractor hood. FIRST FLOOR Window at front provides views to Hazelwood Common. Recessed Landing GROUND FLOOR ceiling lights. With window overlooking the Living Room. Entrance Hall Utility Room 4.2m x 3.8m / 13’7” x 12’5” 2.8m x 2.6m / 9’3” x 6’5” Bedroom 2 With galvanised steel spiral staircase With stainless steel sink, fully glazed 4.1m x 3.7m / 13’7” x 12’1” leading to upper floors. door to rear garden, wall-mounted oil- Windows to front with views over fired boiler and hot water cylinder. Hazelwood Common. Pitch pine Living Room flooring. Recessed ceiling lights. 11.9m x 4.7m / 39’ x 15’ 6” Bathroom A very large, light south-facing With mosaic tiled walls, WC, hand Bedroom 3 space with double height ceiling and basin and shower. 4.1m x 3.7m / 13’7” x 12’1” uninterrupted views towards the Alde Windows to front with views over Estuary. Exposed Aldeburgh Red Bedroom 1 Hazelwood Common. Pitch pine brick walls with a full-length glazed 4.2m x 3.7m / 13’7” x 12’ flooring. Recessed ceiling lights. elevation leading to rear terrace. Pitch Window to front. Walk-in dressing pine flooring. room. Bathroom With mosaic tiled walls, WC, hand Kitchen En suite bathroom basin and bath with shower over. 4.2m x 3.7m / 13’7” x 12’1” Large room with mosaic tiled walls, Contemporary kitchen with WC, bath and shower. Features Vola integrated Smeg appliances including and Villeroy & Boch fittings. Recessed dishwasher American-style fridge/ ceiling lights. freezer. Granite work surfaces and central work station with gas hobs Clockwise from top left: Living room; Kitchen; Bedroom 1; Entrance hall Clockwise from top: Bedroom 4; Details of the stair; Dovecote; Detail of the living room; First floor landing

SECOND FLOOR OUTSIDE SPACE SERVICES

Bedroom 4 The house is surrounded by The house and annexe benefit from 11.6m x 2.2m / 38’ x 12’1” approximately 2 acres of garden. under floor heating to the ground A large, long open-plan space with floor. There is a private water supply angled ceiling. Two Velux windows Front from a well and drainage is to a provide extensive and uninterrupted Grassed area providing parking space private treatment system. views across the Alde Estuary. Pitch for three or more cars, together with pine flooring. Recessed ceiling lights. garden tool and lawnmower shed. Approx gross internal floor area: Currently in use as a studio and Main house 204 sq m / 2199 sq ft further reception room. Rear Studio 35 sq m / 377 sq ft Extensive lawns with a selection of ANNEXE mature trees, orchard and vegetable Please note that all areas, measurements and distances given in garden. An extensive decked terrace these sales particulars are approximate and rounded. The text, photographs and Studio can be found at the rear of the floor plans are for general guidance Provides two spaces of 4.6m x 3.1m / house which offers extensive views only. The Modern House has not tested any services, appliances or specific 15’ x 10’4” with an extensive storage towards the Alde Estuary. A dovecote fittings – prospective purchasers are advised to inspect the property unit running in between. Could be / garden shed can also be found in the themselves. All fixtures, fittings used to create two further bedrooms gardens. and furniture not specifically itemised within these particulars plus WC and shower. are deemed removable by the vendor. HISTORY The Friston house stands on the site of two 18th century cottages, built for gamekeepers on the Wentworth estate. The cottages were in an entirely dilapidated condition when bought by the current owners of the house six years ago so it was decided that they should be replaced.

The new house retains the feel of these cottages (especially the front elevation) with the use of a pitched slate roof and striking Aldeburgh Red brick. The house’s architects, Michael and Patty Hopkins (who live in their own house nearby) wanted to avoid disturbing the rural atmosphere of the site so designed a house that is reserved in its modernity.

The Hopkins’s pioneered the High-Tech style of architecture (along with Richard Rogers, Norman Foster and Nicholas Grimshaw) with the startling design of a house in Hampstead in 1976, made almost entirely of steel and glass. These tendencies, although muted, still emerge throughout the Friston house, most notably in the large, double-height living room which has one entirely glazed wall and extensive exposed structural flitch beams (made from Douglas fir and galvanised steel). The spiral steel staircase, made specifically for the house, is another feature that links the architecture of the house to such projects as the Greene King Warehouse in , designed by Michael Hopkins and Partners in 1976.

In the book, The Work of Michael Hopkins and Partners (Phaidon Press, 2001), Colin Davies describes Michael Hopkins’s architecture as “functional and honest… For him, the starting point of the design process is never an intellectual idea, [it is] always an instinctive response to brief and context”. This much is clear in the Friston house, an essentially straightforward and satisfying piece of architecture constructed largely from locally-sourced materials.

Michael Hopkins (b. 1935) and his wife Patricia (b. 1942) established their practise in 1976. Among their most celebrated projects are the Mount Stand at Lords Cricket Ground, the David Mellor Offices and Showroom in Derbyshire, Glyndebourne Opera House in Sussex, Manchester City Art Gallery and the New Parliamentary Building and Underground Station at Westminster. Michael Hopkins and Partners have also completed a number of celebrated private residences over the years. Both Michael and Patty Hopkins are RIBA Gold

Architect’s drawing, 2000 Medal laureates. FLOORPLANS

GROUND FLOOR

Living Room 11.9m x 4.7m 39’0” x 15’6” Utility 2.8m x 2.6m 9‘3” x 8’5”

Bedroom 1 Entrance Hall 4.2m x 3.7m 4.2m x 3.8m 13’7” x 12’0” 13’7” x 12’5”

Dressing Room Kitchen 2.8m x 1.5m 4.2m x 3.7m 9‘3” x 4’9” 13’7” x 12’1”

FIRST FLOOR

Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 4.1m x 3.7m 4.1m x 3.7m 13’7” x 12’0” 13’7” x 12’0”

SECOND FLOOR

Bedroom 4 11.6m x 2.2m 38’ x 12’1”

ANNEXE

4.6m x 3.1m 4.6m x 3.2m 15’0” x 10’4” 15’0” x 10’4”

Contact The Modern House +44 (0)1420 520805 [email protected] www.themodernhouse.co.uk