The Porthole House

Everything about the house is orthogonal — flat roof, square openings, a rendered box on a stone base — except one large circular window set high on the front elevation. Because it is the only curve anywhere in the scheme it carries the whole identity of the building, and because it is placed on the stair landing it lights the part of the plan that is usually darkest. Below it the ground floor is recessed to make a covered undercroft for parking, and a timber panel lines that recess so the approach is warm rather than a rendered cave.