Clock House

Contemporary house design with clock feature, along one of the main arterial routes into the city of Plymouth.
At the design stage, the Plymouth City Planners expressed the desire of having a house that would act as a gateway to the city, down the planned upgraded Tavistock Road; one of the main arterial routes into the city. The wish was for an imposing building designed in a modern context that although residential would reflect a modern dynamic city. The house has a total of four bedrooms with a lounge and dining kitchen with a separate utility space. The design challenges were to use a vernacular palette of materials that were not too complex, with fenestration that could cope with the noise pollution from the adjacent highway.

The scheme was resubmitted subsequently to Plymouth City Planning for a larger building with a full double garage with flat roofs that could be used as private outdoor amenity spaces. The expectation was that the building could be a live and work experience so office space has been included.
To enhance the status of the house a Clock was added to make the building known, recognizable and easy to find. The added advantage of the Clock was that it both recognized the past era of buildings having clocks and also provides a public service by allowing passers-by to know what time it is.