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Summary

Description

Morris and Steedman Architects, 1964 with 1976 additions by the same architect. Long, single-storey, rectilinear, flat-roofed, modern-movement house comprising principal living block with flat roof swept up to form clerestory over living room; 1976 pavilion containing guest accommodation and garage connected to house by long glazed link facing garden. Brown Leicester brick walls with mahogany fascia and large areas of glazing; brown Derbyshire brick to 1976 pavilion. House faces W with principal rooms overlooking garden and River Tay; entrance to E.

W (PRINCIPAL) ELEVATION: 6-bay principal block to left with horizontal strip of bedroom windows under eaves; glazing stepped down to right (S), terminating in fully-glazed wall of living room. Flat roof swept up over living room with horizontal band of clerestory windows facing S. Additional bay containing dining area slightly recessed to right with glazed roof over re-entrant angle to form covered patio. Roughly 7-bay glazed conservatory link extends from dining room to 2-bay guest pavilion. Full-height windows to guest pavilion return at corners.

E (ENTRANCE) ELEVATION: unobtrusive entrance elevation dominated by rear brick wall of glazed link. Principal house advanced to right: recessed glazed entrance doorway with sidelights; wall extending forward to right enclosing entrance courtyard; 2-bay kitchen window under eaves to left of door; plain timber-boarded side door to left return. 3-bay Garage block advanced to right with metal roll-up doors recessed between brick piers.

INTERIOR: almost unaltered, except kitchen, utility room and one bathroom have been re-fitted. Open-plan sitting room with timber-boarded ceiling and Canadian maple floor boards; folding doors to dining area and study. Internal doors made of obeche with handles by Assa (Sweden). Fitted cupboards in hall and bedrooms.

Statement of Special Interest

A fine and little-altered example of the work of Morris and Steedman. The principal alteration has been the addition of the guest pavilion and connecting glazed link, built in 1976. The kitchen, utility room and one bathroom have also been sympathetically refitted. The house has a distinctive bold, linear form, which is off-set by the curve of the swept roof and responds sensitively to its riverside setting. There is a marked contrast between the west elevation, which is largely glazed and the east elevation, which has relatively few openings.

The practice of Morris and Steedman is recognised as a pioneer of modern architecture in Scotland. James Shepherd Morris (1931-2006) and Robert Russell Steedman (b.1929) both graduated in architecture from Edinburgh School of Art in 1955. They pursued further studies in landscape architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, studying under Philip Johnson. They were much influenced by Johnson and the ideals of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer and Richard Neutra. They returned to Edinburgh and established their architectural practice in 1957. Although they designed a number of large public and commercial commissions the practice was most recognised for its special contribution to domestic architecture during the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Meadowland has many features in common with other houses by Morris and Steedman, particularly the closed aspect of the entrance elevation in contrast to the glazed garden elevation, and the use of exposed brick and timber-boarded panelling in the principal rooms.

The house was commissioned for Mr and Mrs Leather, who had small children at the time and wanted their living accommodation to be on one floor. The clients also requested that the living room should be open to the dining room, but able to be closed off from it, hence the folding screen doors. Morris and Steedman had been recommended to the Leathers by friends, but were initially reluctant to take on the commission as they had enough work at the time. When they saw the site, they changed their minds. The site is very extensive, with garden sloping down to the River Tay; it was formerly occupied by a large Victorian villa.

References

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