“A sculpture to live in”
Joe and Claire Priday gave architect concept designer Mike O’Connor and his son Alex free reign to create their family home. The result is the Hux Shard, a line of zinc-clad triangles stretching across the sleepy Devon countryside for 70 metres.
An aesthetic, architectural and engineering triumph, the complex and advanced structure would have been a challenging build even without the delays of Covid lockdowns. A difficult three years in the making, this architectural, sculptural statement is never the less a warm and welcoming family home with areas designed to be cosy, to hide clutter and to draw people together.
The kitchen is the prime social space. At first glance, it is a beautiful room enabling and inspiring great cookery. Upon closer inspection it soon offers more artistic touches and reveals more of the home’s trademark angles. As with all the rooms, wonderful views abound, both inside and out. The full complement of 400 series appliances provide a unified design to the room. The ovens and warming drawers are placed on a dark oak cupboard surface, the induction cooktop and Table ventilation are placed flush into the island and all blend to create a family kitchen, warm entertaining environment and impressive architectural showcase. Everyone gathers in the kitchen, to be fed, socialise and relax in front of the endless view.
Built from a frame of 282 glued and laminated timbers, with zinc-clad wooden walls, 46 triple glazed windows and 30 km of cable, the structure rises 7.5 metres into the air, dominating the site. Resembling the local granite outcrops of Dartmoor, the building is on stilts, half buried in its plot. Carbon negative and using locally sourced materials, this complex build achieved all of its ecological aims. Beyond the numbers, the imposing structure and unique angles lies a noisy, fun, family home where three kids ride bicycles down the never-ending hallway from the bedrooms to the welcoming, impressive kitchen.
“I was having a coffee with the client in the kitchen last week and we’d always wanted you to see that it was a sculpture when you are inside, but also still have it feel like ‘home’. The kitchen, in particular, being of such high quality, helps that happen.”
Mike O’Connor
