The Studio, Ulting (EHER 48160)

The Studio, Ulting, a house and studio built in 1968-1969 by Richard and Su Rogers, and the engineer Anthony Hunt. The Studio is little altered externally and internally. It is a rare example of an entirely steel-framed house in England.

June 2012. Grade II listed. A pair of flat-roofed buildings comprising a house and a studio with car port, built for the artist Humphrey Spender in 1968-1969 by Richard and Su Rogers, assisted by John Young and the engineer Anthony Hunt. Both buildings are of a single storey with flat roofs. Internally, the original colour scheme remains: white-painted plaster boards and purple, full-height sliding doors. The underside of the corrugated steel roof forms the ceiling. Epoxy floors remain in the kitchen and bathroom. The original, extendable wall lights remain. It is listed for it's architectural interest: it is a very early steel-framed house in England, significant for developing the lightweight Californian aesthetic here. The bracing shows the novelty of the system in Britain which was not repeated in later houses. It is the first independent work by Richard and Su Rogers following the dissolution of their practice with Norman Foster and the first house by the engineer Anthony Hunt, who became a specialist engineer of steel-framed houses working with a number of different architects. The house and studio were built on the site of an orchard which lay to the rear of the Old Vicarage, the family home of Humphrey Spender (1910-2005), a renowned photographer, textile designer and painter who had qualified as an architect before teaching at the Royal College of Art until retiring in 1975. One of his students knew a talented young architect who might be suitable for the project to build a home and workplace for later life, with easy access to the outdoors and with the benefit of new technology. The architect was Richard Rogers, who with his wife Su designed The Studio soon after they had set up their own practice in 1967 following the disbanding of Team 4 (Richard and Su Rogers, Norman and Wendy Foster and Georgie Walton). <1> The Studio, Ulting, a house and studio built in 1968-1969 by Richard and Su Rogers, and the engineer Anthony Hunt. The Studio is little altered externally and internally. It is a rare example of an entirely steel-framed house in England. <2> Post War Houses Defined Area Survey; The Studio, Ulting, Maldon, Essex