Case Study / Waterproofing
Caring Wood, Kent
RIBA House of the year 2017
Designed by Architects James Macdonald Wright of Macdonald Wright Architects and Niall Maxwell of Rural Office for Architecture, Caring Wood went on to win RIBA House of the year 2017 and was featured on the popular TV show Grand Designs.
Inspired by the traditional oast houses of Kent, the agricultural buildings for kilning hops, Caring Wood revives local building crafts and traditions including locally sourced handmade peg clay tiles, locally quarried ragstone and coppiced chestnut cladding. The house comprises four towers, with interlinking roofs like markers in the landscape, echoing other oast houses in the distance.
MacLennan were employed to install a Waterproofing system for the project, with one of our design team advising on Waterproofing from the start of the design stage.
Method
At the clients request MacLennan designed a cavity drain waterproofing system for the internal area of 1,443 m² that was operated by gravity instead of the usual pump based system.
Inspection ports were hidden at intervals around the system so that it could be maintained without interfering with the design of the interior. The system was installed by MacLennan's fully trained and NVQ qualified technicians.
The cavity drain system is a water management system. It is the most effective and reliable form of Waterproofing in most situations. The Cavity drain membrane system is also easily and quickly repaired and maintained.
Result
The work was carried by MacLennan in the agreed time frames and was guaranteed for a period of 10 years.
The design of the Waterproofing is covered by MacLennan's 10 million PI and covered by our £500,000 insured warranty.
Dezeen Magazine Quote
"Architects James Macdonald Wright of Macdonald Wright Architects and Niall Maxwell of Rural Office for Architecture completed the winning project, Caring Wood, earlier this year.
Described by the jury as a "brave" new prototype for multi-generational living, the house provides a home for three generations of one family. It is divided into four interconnected blocks representing the four units of the family: the owners and their daughters' husbands and children.
The angular roofs of the blocks are covered in terracotta-toned clay tiles, while the connected base is faced in rag-stone from a nearby quarry. The form and materials refer to the region's oast houses, used to dry hops in preparation for the brewing process.
"This ambitious house explores new architectural methods, materials and crafts and allows us to question the future of housing and the concept of multi-generational living," said RIBA president Ben Derbyshire.
"I've no doubt many of the ideas displayed at Caring Wood will influence UK housing for many years to come.""
3d Details
