Boats
Bosco, in her commercial life had been a cargo barge traversing the European waterways carrying grain and coal. Her vast, singular riveted steel hold space of 5 by 38 meters had at the time of purchase a curved demountable corrugated steel roof. The floor had been ballasted with hundreds of high-density concrete blocks to offset the lack of cargo. Fourteen newly installed brass portholes established the rhythm for the setting out of the internal layout to create rooms. The brief was to convert this working barge into a comfortable family home. We wanted to be able to provide everything you would expect in a house, including specific grown up spaces and teenage areas as well as 'meet in the middle' family areas. Also key to the brief was to create some sort of a garden space.
We carved up the original hold space below deck into three parts – the master bedroom suite in the stern, children's quarters to the bow and social spaces in the middle. The design was also required to tackle the not insignificant technical challenges involved in converting boats into comfortable dwellings, including the requirement to co-locate most of the bathroom/washing services in one place so the boat facilities can connect up with shore facilities for power and waste away.
So to meet these design parameters, our primary visual intervention to the barge aesthetic was the addition of the glass box, or as it started out, a Fox's glacier mint, sitting on the deck. We honed the design, eventually morphing the 'glacier mint' into the proportions of industrial shipping containers like Maersk, then transforming this rectilinear form into glass, which allowed the light and air in and the river views out. Having filled this 'winter garden' with temperate plants, lemon trees and a vine, we can now appreciate the benefits of river living all year round in the lemon and jasmine scented indoor oasis. Neatly tucked below this winter garden are the major servicing elements, where the bath, shower and utility rooms are co-located. Finally, to the stern, separated from the glass box by teak decks is the open plan kitchen and dining area, presided over by the wheelhouse. 'It's all incredibly domesticated, comfortable and familiar' said Matt Gibberd of The Modern House, when interviewing us for The World of Interiors October 2018 issue. 'Like wearing your favorite fur lined slippers - albeit with skateboard wheels attached to the soles' when referring to the barely perceptible ebb and flow of the Thames beneath.
We carved up the original hold space below deck into three parts – the master bedroom suite in the stern, children's quarters to the bow and social spaces in the middle. The design was also required to tackle the not insignificant technical challenges involved in converting boats into comfortable dwellings, including the requirement to co-locate most of the bathroom/washing services in one place so the boat facilities can connect up with shore facilities for power and waste away.
So to meet these design parameters, our primary visual intervention to the barge aesthetic was the addition of the glass box, or as it started out, a Fox's glacier mint, sitting on the deck. We honed the design, eventually morphing the 'glacier mint' into the proportions of industrial shipping containers like Maersk, then transforming this rectilinear form into glass, which allowed the light and air in and the river views out. Having filled this 'winter garden' with temperate plants, lemon trees and a vine, we can now appreciate the benefits of river living all year round in the lemon and jasmine scented indoor oasis. Neatly tucked below this winter garden are the major servicing elements, where the bath, shower and utility rooms are co-located. Finally, to the stern, separated from the glass box by teak decks is the open plan kitchen and dining area, presided over by the wheelhouse. 'It's all incredibly domesticated, comfortable and familiar' said Matt Gibberd of The Modern House, when interviewing us for The World of Interiors October 2018 issue. 'Like wearing your favorite fur lined slippers - albeit with skateboard wheels attached to the soles' when referring to the barely perceptible ebb and flow of the Thames beneath.
This Floating Villa, the fifth in the fleet of residential marine projects undertaken by LAB, combines the comfort of an elegant a private home with the romantic sensibilities of living on the water, affording an opportunity of escape that only a boat can convey.
Approached from the south bank of the river Thames by way of a private entry, The cedar clad exterior façade is set out to a carefully orchestrated rhythm of spacing. Where appropriate these timber batons either reveal or conceals the vessel in a decorative manner that also provides necessary internal shading.
An expansive open plan arrangement at main deck level includes living room, snug, and dining room, with views out across to Hurlingham Park is chic in its simplicity and conveys an atmosphere of calm sophistication.
The elemental kitchen, of bespoke painted furniture and marble island, leads the eye through to the living area, passing the suspended fire, and out through the central sliding panoramic window, which frames the view of the constantly changing riverscape.
Ascending via the cantilevered stair and double height space you reach the lower deck which is a more private affair. The sitting room acts as a vestibule to the sleeping accommodation, affording access to the master bedroom suite by way of a concealed door in the panelling towards the stern, while further bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms are accessed via the shimmering corridor towards the bow.
The design of the living room, chic in its simplicity, conveys an atmosphere of calm and sophistication. The elemental kitchen, comprising bespoke painted furniture and white marble island, directs the eye through to the living room, with suspended fire, and out through the central sliding panoramic window supplied by Carminati, which frames the view of the constantly changing riverscape.
The openness and spaciousness of the upper floor contrasts with the private and intimate character of the rooms; the colours and materials chosen (white, blue, black and wood) are the leitmotif of a project that exalts the concept of “tailor-made” to the maximum level. The distribution corridor of the sleeping area also deserves special mention. The rigidity of its forms is transformed by spotlights and a metal plate on the ceiling. The last one has some “liquid” reflections which create the effect of traces of the water left by a boat moving along the river.
Lab Architects has managed to create a space that is in no way inferior to a real home. The stereotypical and monotonous decor of boats has been transformed by eclectic and comfortable furniture and accessories; small porthole windows have been replaced by Skyline System, created to give some special design and refinement to the rooms.
L’ Alliance is a renovated barge, moored at Cadogan Pier beneath the Royal Albert Bridge, Chelsea.