Page 127 - Homes & Interiors Scotland

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that they had not been developed in unity. “Hart Street peters The house has 165m of floor space within a footprint
out, the façades don’t line up and there’s a wide expanse of measuring just 11m x 6m. Into that, the architect has managed
road,” he explains. In the 1960s, one entire side of Hart Street to fit three bedrooms, three shower rooms, an open-plan
was developed into a hotel, resulting in the installation of a living-dining-kitchen area, a study, a basement, a garage, a
mansard roof and a botched gable end. It was not very well utility room and a roof terrace. His excitement is palpable as
executed, says Murphy. He made the decision to build his he gives the tour. Everywhere you turn, there is a trick, a quirk
structure high enough to obscure that gable. or an example of bespoke Murphy gadgetry. He’s like a child
He wanted to explore the concept of creating something who has invented the house he has always wanted to play in,
new in an old place, and his plan for the space was ambitious and every nook presents a surprise.
and multifaceted. “I don’t believe in faking it up or building The roof terrace is a piece of unspoilt heaven in the busy
behind a façade,” he says. He was also eager to see how he city centre. Here, he has tried to recreate the work of one of
could squeeze space out of the footprint, without it feeling like his greatest inspirations and the man he is currently writing
a caravan. He admits that he does not consider himself to be a a book about: Carlo Scarpa. The space is based on the Italian
‘green’ architect, but he was very interested in seeing how he architect’s garden at the Querini Stampalia cultural institute in
could make this house an efficient space. The final intention Venice. The tiles Murphy has used in the walls of his terrace
was to pay homage to several of his architectural heroes. were sourced from the same Italian manufacturer. They

HOMES & INTERIORS SCOTLAND