Collection by susana belo
Exteriores | Patios
If tidiness is paramount for the family, a place for the kids to play outdoors is equally important. The climbing wall at the back of the garden is entirely the work of Mark Tiarks, who built the Composite House and who relished a chance to step out from beneath Tozer’s plans and design an aspect of the house himself.
“We really wanted to capture the ruinous quality of this old building rather than do something overtly new,” says Greg Blee, founding partner at Blee Halligan Architects. Before construction could begin, however, he and Halligan had to patch the remaining walls using stones found in the nearby river. Wherever a wall had collapsed, the designers inserted framing to create windows and doors. For the roof, they turned to the original tiles. “My father’s terrible at throwing things away,” Blee says. “We took the tiles off 30 years ago, as it was too dangerous to have them up there. They’ve been sitting in the fields ever since, and this was our last chance to use them.”
A common theme of the remodel was the incorporation of salvaged material, both from the original house and outside sources. Collaborating with Peter Buley of Analog Modern, the original hemlock fir joists of the house were repurposed into the main entry door. Adjacent to the door is a bench made from a heart pine beam, sourced by Buley. The beam had been charred during a circa-1900 fire, and subsequently painted over during the last 100 years. The unique piece now finds its home in the entry foyer.











