Patrick Gwynne, Esher, Surrey, UK, 1938
OfHouses guest curated by Adam Štěch : “Le Corbusier’s ideas also inspired the debut of the British cult
architect Patrick Gwynne who, among other things, is the author of the
Serpentine Pavilion restaurant in London’s Hyde Park. At the age of 25,
he built a functionalist residence for his parents. Homewood, which is
now also open to the public, later became his own home and a laboratory
to test his original modernist concepts.
The glass-enclosed residential block resting on brick piles opens to
the landscape. The interior spaces of the house are artfully decorated
with fashionable art-deco features, creating a highly eclectic
environment where luxurious materials are combined in unexpected
solutions. Gwynne became famous especially in the postwar years, when he
focused on the design of artfully conceived luxury private residences.“ (Photos 1-8 © Adam Štěch, Lucy Spiers, Architects’ Journal Buildings Library.)
