‘To be informed that we had won the Alan King Award for the second year running is an extremely proud achievement for our growing practice’ says Andre Bisson MCIAT. ‘We are very honoured to be winners of this prestigious Award and have no doubt that this will inspire us to continue in producing further exceptional designs for our clients to enjoy in the future.’ In the presence of Andre, you cannot help but be enthused by his energy and commitment to the Architectural Technology discipline. He is a candidate for a role model Chartered Architectural Technologist – a good example to other members.

The winning project is an extended and renovated house which provides a modern open plan interior whilst retaining the property’s individual external appearance. The external brickwork to the original property has been replaced with new brickwork to match the new extension and this inspired solution is illustrated by the stunning appearance of the completed building, which boasts views of all the Channel Islands.

The dwelling was a challenging one however for Andre as he explains ‘several aspects of the project have been a challenge, from designing the bespoke audio wall, to the detail of having no skirting boards to the base of the walls, particularly when faced with installing a solid wood floor finish throughout the dwelling. The house is founded on rock which itself threw in plenty of obstacles when laying foundations, drainage and ducts etc. To single out a challenge, I would simply have to say one word: brickwork — those involved with the project will fully understand this!’ Despite its challenges  it is a project that Andre is very proud of and most particularly the famous brickwork. ‘Convincing my client and the contractor to rebrick the entire existing structure, as well as the new build sections, with a new and more modern architectural brick has been an outstanding success which has maintained the character of the original house and shows how sympathetic the new design is.’

The house is also a highly sustainable one with solar control glazing achieving specific U-values of 1.2 W/m2K and  switchable glass changeable from clear to opaque in under a second. ‘Unfortunately this project can’t boast that it is carbon neutral’ explains Andre, ‘the only real contribution to the environment would be the large use of low energy LED lighting and high level of thermal insulation installed throughout both the existing and new sections of the dwelling.’

The entire house was rewired with low energy downlighter fittings, together with LED fittings which became the dominant devices. Each unit is only one watt which enabled a mass installation throughout the building and came with a 50 year guarantee — the bulbs will never need changing and the units themselves are encased in stainless steel to endure the test of time against all weather conditions. The entire LED fittings amount to a total power consumption of 112 watts.

As within his winning project last year, Andre has continued with his trademark LED door bells. ‘They may sound insignificant but they are difficult to come across in the UK! We as a practice always have and always will supply the door bells for our clients, this is a very minor trademark feature  but along with the extensive use of LED lighting, we hope this will be a reflection of our work in future. I would like to believe that the components used throughout the building will stand the test of time and I would like to think that this building will certainly outlive me!’

‘When I first viewed the empty property I was immediately awestruck with the fairytale look to the house, probably due to the materials that were used to originally construct it, the brickwork and weathered tiles together with several exposed full height chimney stacks gave the house somewhat of a Hansel and Gretel look to it. Due to its elevated position the views in every direction are spectacular, which to some degree did inspire the design.’

The American oak staircase with stainless steel spindles has become a focal point within the dwelling and from the outset, the client had requested for the patio level to be flush with the internal floor level. This required careful detailing and the end result allows a level entry from the outside in off the patio, cascading steps lead down from either ends of the terraced wrap-around patio onto the gardens to the north and south. Internally, door thresholds were installed only where necessary to allow a flush level approach into each room and the ground floor shower room has also been designed with ease of use in mind. A large wet floor shower tray system has been incorporated into the corner of this room below the main staircase, a corner wall mounted WC and oversized wash hand basin complete this user-friendly room. 

Andre began his architectural career in 1991 as an apprentice Architectural Technician and twelve years later after becoming a director of that company, Andre made a career change and set up his own practice in May 2003. Over the past six years, he has been involved with over 450 projects both locally and on the mainland. Andre is currently working on in excess of 50 projects ranging from small extensions, conversions through to new builds.

Andre summed up the Award. ‘The Award does feel personal to me — I am very proud to say that I am a Member of the Institute and that they have awarded us with this as recognition of our work. I hope that we (being a small practice on a very small island) will inspire future members to enter for the Award in the future; we are sure that there are many projects, Architectural Technologists and Architectural Technicians in the industry who deserve the recognition for their hard work and contribution to the architecture of our times.’