Documents

There are no additional online documents for this record.

Summary

Description

Peter Womersley, 1957, integral addition in contemporary style, 1982. Single storey, 14 by 5-bay rectangular-plan Modernist modular flat-roofed house incorporating courtyard space and open car port set on gently sloping site in cleared woodland. Makore timber-framed construction on 8ft grid pattern over concrete raft; white horizontal base course band; higher level band forming clerestory and continuous white facia board at eaves with aluminium trim. Asymmetrical coloured vitroslab panels, clear plate plyglass glazing, and vertically boarded Makore denote living, bathroom and sleeping areas. Entrance screen with five horizontal panels formerly coloured, with later surface tile mosaic added by Bernat Klein. Later addition of studio with contemporary detailing partially infilling former open courtyard and pond to E corner (1982).

Plain timber doors; single glazed metal-framed sliding patio doors; double-glazed, timber-framed fixed lights incorporating horizontal coloured glass panels in yellow and green at intervals; plain varnished timber vertically boarded sections. Internal concealed rainwater drainage to soakaways.

INTERIOR: fine Modernist open plan interior with original design scheme in place including bespoke fitted furniture and storage sections, travertine and tiled flooring, polished obeche wood ceiling, light fittings and contemporary furniture. All textiles were specially designed, dyed and woven by Bernat Klein. Open plan main living space with sunken central floor area, floor to ceiling glazing, double sided grey marble central hearth, and fitted timber cabinets with integral lighting. Panelled African hardwood walls including indigbo, rosewood and walnut, with flush hidden doors leading to bedroom suites. Main bedroom suite has flush cupboards on three walls with characteristic 'bedhead' wall of horizontal strip walnut. Original cobalt blue tiles to kitchen floor and simple timber units.

BOUNDARY WALLS: Drystone walls and gateposts to entrance drive. Low level wall sections perpendicular to building plan to define outside spaces: low retaining wall to NE corner.

Statement of Special Interest

High Sunderland is a fine early example of the work of the internationally renowned Borders based architect Peter Womersley (1923-1993), a signature work embodying his characteristic geometric modular design and surviving in its original condition to both the exterior and interior.

High Sunderland was commissioned in 1956 by Bernat Klein, a well respected textiles designer and prominent member of the Borders art scene who incorporated his own textiles into the original design. Mr Klein had seen Womersley's earlier work, the Grade II listed Farnley Hey (1954) in Huddersfield, Britain's best known example of the American contemporary style with rough stone walls and extensive windows. It was commissioned on this basis although an earlier design using stone walls was amended for cost reasons. Mr Klein remains resident and the fact that all of his fabrics are in situ enhances the significance of the building as a set design piece.

Womersley specialised in creating an expansive feel within a house with relatively small floor area by using minimal circulation spaces, choosing to treat the house as one entity. He defined spaces with changing floor levels, using flush cupboard blocks as walls with 'secret' doors leading to separate areas. He was inspired by the Californian 'case study homes' which employed open planned spaces surrounded by shady gardens. High Sunderland was designed to be used as a commercial office space for meetings as well as a home; the grid plan allowing for possible further expansion as part of the design brief. The courtyard and pond area was filled in to make office space when the separate studio building was sold in 1982. The open plan playroom area designed with sleeping alcoves for the children was intended to be divided into separate bedrooms at a later stage.

High Sunderland was a forerunner to Erno Goldfinger's Grade II listed Benjamins Mount of 1967, also a flat roofed modular open plan design with 2 separate wings, and with a monumentality that defies its small scale. High Sunderland is a geometric modular building that sits successfully in its natural landscape due to its simple flat roofed design and the clever use of the open yet enclosed courtyard spaces which linking the house to its environment.

References

Bibliography

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

Listed building consent is required for changes to a listed building which affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. The relevant planning authority is the point of contact for applications for listed building consent.

Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.