Julian Bicknell Associates - Architecture of Fine Quality

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FORBES HOUSE, LONDON

Built for Mr and Mrs Sean O'Brien, this new brick-built house follows the scale and flavour of the elegant 18th and 19th Century houses overlooking Ham Common in SW London

It is enriched with two colours of brick, reconstituted stone, wide timber window surrounds and a heavily carved front door case by Dick Reid.

The five family and reception rooms at ground floor - drawing room, circular dining room, family-room/kitchen, children's' snug and study - open onto a generous garden at the back of the house.

On the first floor are four bedrooms and three bathrooms; in the attic, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a studio and roof terrace; in the basement, a billiard room, cinema and wine cellar. A secret spiral stair connects all four floors.

Two double garages, a pool house and an open-air swimming pool, adjoin the house. The garden with its fine mature trees is laid out to provide a variety of contrasting environments - an open lawn, a herb garden, a wilderness, and a lily pond.

Julian Bicknell & Associates is a London based architectural practice of thirty years standing, specialising in quality buildings, interiors and landscapes - mainly in classical or traditional style. The practice has worked for private clients and developers all over the UK and in Japan, Russia, the USA, Morocco, Germany and Kazakhstan. The work includes spacious country houses, luxury homes on the prestige estates at Wentworth and St. Georges Hill, museums, restaurants, theatres, schools, a golf club and modifications to important historic buildings. The design philosophy combines a deep sympathy for traditional design and building methods, with a full understanding of energy strategies and construction management. The practice works closely with other professionals and experienced craftsmen to achieve low-energy buildings of real quality within predetermined budgets.