Reasons for Designation
* A fine and little altered example of the work of the distinctive architect Julian Sofaer. This is his principal house design.
* A good example of a privately commissioned 1960s executive home
* A good example of a post-war house where the proportions of the building and intriguing plan make the most of its hillside setting and where the choice of materials, finish and attention to detail are of a high quality.
Details
786/0/10160 DIAMOND TERRACE
19-DEC-07 Meridian West
II
Private house 1963-65, by Julian Sofaer, architect, for Brant Screeton, entrepreneur. Contemporary front boundary wall and gates by E Morton Wright, architect. House extended and altered 1970s and early 1980s and rear pedestrian gate added, all by E Morton Wright.
MATERIALS: Buff brick with fair-faced concrete beams and prominent timber detailing; fascia of creosoted, western red cedar boards, pine roof beams, pine-boarded eves soffit, Utile hardwood windows and screens.
PLAN: A detached house with a flat roof, built on a sloping site. The entrance is via a stair up to the first floor entrance lobby on the north front (which is also a bridge linking east and west wings; it was originally unenclosed). The accommodation is largely on the first floor. The undercroft of the bridge and external staircase behind are now enclosed with glazed screens; the courtyard screen is original but repositioned. The rooms are arranged around a partially enclosed L-shaped terrace or courtyard which is on the west side, and is accessible from the house. Along the east and south sides of the house: a combined kitchen-dining room (now incorporating the space of a former W.C.), bathroom, lounge (formerly a bedroom) and two bedrooms. A bedroom extension has been added at the rear (south) of the house, partially dug into the bank. The rectangular living room, which projects over the drive to the north and garden to the west, is somewhat removed from the main body of rooms, linked by the entrance bridge. On the ground floor, the garage is to the right of the entrance lobby, and a studio has subsequently been excavated out of the bank on the left, in place of a small WC and store.
EXTERIOR: The brickwork stops short of the soffit, exposing the timber roof beams which are cantilevered to support the deeply overhanging timber-lined eaves. The north (street) front is largely blank brick, divided by the glazed entrance lobby and 'bridge' above. A fair-faced concrete plinth supports the entrance bridge and living room, with timber garage door recessed beneath the timber-lined living room projection. There are small corner windows on the left-hand side for the kitchen and studio, a larger ground floor window for the studio to the left of the entrance, and concealed narrow full-height kitchen and living room windows overlooking the entrance. South, east, and west facades are predominantly glazed at first floor level, with projecting full-height windows for the living room on the east side and for the dining room and bedroom on the west sides, supported on concrete plinths. On the west side, the roof timbers extend over the terrace to create a pergola (now partially removed).
The house is set amongst mature planting. The subsequent architect-owner, E Morton Wright who carried out the extensions also assisted with some of the original detailing of the house, including the curved brick front boundary wall with metal gates.
INTERIOR: Interior finishes are of a high quality. Walls are fair-faced brickwork, or render, some subsequently covered with hessian. Ceilings are lined with redwood, and floors carpeted, except for timber in the kitchen/dining area and in the rear extension. The stone flags in the entrance at ground floor level have been replaced with white tiles. The arrangement of rooms around the court and the substantial glazing creates a strong relationship with the garden. The living room has a large pivoting door on to the terrace. Bedrooms have fitted cupboards. The lounge (former bedroom) has an added fireplace, and has incorporated the courtyard corridor. The kitchen has been refitted. Most internal doors are original and there are good light fittings throughout.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Curving brick walls of header courses and metal gates to principal north entrance; metal pedestrian gate to south, all by E Morton Wright.
HISTORY: Meridian West was a privately commissioned house designed by the architect Julian Sofaer for the entrepreneur Brant Screeton and built between 1963-65. The architect confirmed that he prepared thirteen designs before finalising the design as built, his aim to achieve a harmony of proportion equivalent to that found in music. E Morton Wright, architect, designed the subsidiary structures including the entrance gates and walls to the north of the property in circa 1964-65. Morton Wright later extended the house to the south in a complimentary style, making minor alterations to the layout and also added a southern pedestrian gate having purchased the property in the early 1970s.
Sofaer's work was largely in the spheres of schools (including the Hugh Myddleton Primary School, Islington, c.1970) and buildings for the Jewish community (including a synagogue in Wembley, c.1980 and offices and a library in Seymour Place, London W1 from 1963-64). Meridian West is Sofaer's principal house design. It is an excellent example of its type, exemplifying a fresh, modern approach to traditional materials, and the delineation between formal public front, and more informal, intimate family areas. The quality of materials and finish is particularly high.
Morton Wright worked initially for the firm Richard Shepherd Robson where he was involved with a number of school projects including as Job architect for City University. He started his own practice in Greenwich in 1965 undertaking a range of commissions covering a variety of building types including houses (two at 24 Morden Mews, Blackheath), extensions to schools (at Leverstock Green and Nash Mills primary schools, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire) and church conversions (St Marks, South Street and Christchurch both in Greenwich). He also designed a new Church and Community Centre for Leytonstone United Free Church.
SOURCES:
Architectural Review, August 1968, pp.110 -111.
Park, J, 1971, Houses for Today, Batsford, London.
Cherry, B & Pevsner, N, 1983, Buildings of England: London 2: South, London: Penguin, p.269.
Information from Julian Sofaer.
REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION:
Meridian West is designated at Grade II for the following reasons:
* A fine and little altered example of the work of the distinctive architect Julian Sofaer; this is his principal house design.
* A good example of a privately commissioned 1960s executive home.
* A good example of a post-war house where the proportions of the building and intriguing plan make the most of its hillside setting and where the choice of materials, finish and attention to detail are of a high quality.
