Creek Vean is the Grade II* listed residential property in the village of Feock in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. It was the first building designed by Team 4, being commissioned by Su Brumwell's parents, Marcus Brumwell and Irene Brumwell. Construction began in 1963 and it was completed in 1966.

History

Su Brumwell's parents, Marcus and Irene Brumwell wanted a retirement home on land he owned in Feock, Cornwall. Marcus Brumwell was the business partner of H. Stuart Menzies who established the Stuart Advertising Agency, and when Menzies retired around 1938–9, Brumwell became the managing director. He later co-founded the

Design Research Unit The Design Research Unit (DRU) was one of the first generation of British design, design consultancies combining expertise in architecture, graphics and industrial design. It was established in 1943 by the poet Herbert Read, architect Misha Black ...

, along with

Herbert Read Sir Herbert Edward Read, (; 4 December 1893 – 12 June 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Read wa ...

. Ernst Freud originally drew up plans for the new house. Marcus Brumwell sent the designs onto

Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British-Italian architect noted for his modernist and constructivist designs in high-tech architecture. He was the founder at Rogers Stirk Harbour + ...

while he was still at the

Yale School of Architecture The Yale School of Architecture (YSoA) is one of the constituent professional schools of Yale University. The School awards the degrees of Master of Architecture I (M.Arch I), Master of Architecture II (M.Arch II), Master of Environmental Desi ...

. Rogers thought the design "appalling". Rogers felt that the Brumwells should have a home deserving of displaying the artwork of artists such as

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadin ...

and

Ben Nicholson Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscapes, and still-life. He was one of the leading promoters of abstract art in England. Backg ...

. Consequently, the Brumwells decided to commission Team 4 instead to design their new home instead. Team 4 had been established in 1963 by Yale School of Architecture graduates Su Brumwell, Wendy Cheesman,

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

, and Richard Rogers. Cheesman's sister Georgie Wolton also co-founded the firm, and she was the only fully qualified architect within the group, which allowed partnership to function as an architectural firm. However, several months later she had left Team 4. It was the first building to be designed by Team 4.In addition to the four partners of Team 4, Creek Vean is also the work of Laurie Abbott who joined Team 4 as an assistant architect while working on Creek Vean. Frank Peacock was another architect who also involved in the project, along with

Anthony Hunt Anthony James Hunt (22 June 1932 – 16 August 2022), familiarly known as Tony Hunt, was a British structural engineer of numerous buildings, with a career spanning from the 1950s until his retirement in 2002. As a leading proponent of Briti ...

. Richard Rogers was influenced by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

in the design of the house after his return from the Yale School of Architecture. Creek Vean took three years to construct and was completed in 1966, however, construction costs of Creek Vean house almost bankrupted the Brumwells, as it went over budget and over-ran the original timescale. The Brumwell's had to sell a

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

painting bought from the artist in the 1930s, to be able to fund the new house. The house ended up with water leaks from the roof, and other structural problems along with heating problems.

Listing and award

In 1969, Creek Vean became the first house to ever receive a

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

award. The RIBA award was for Work of Outstanding Quality. In 1998, Creek Vean was Grade-II listed, it was subsequently upgraded to Grade II*. It is listed as "Creekvean and Attached Entrance Bridge and Walls to Road".

References

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External links

Creek Vean on the Foster + Partners website

Creek Vean on the RSHP website
Grade II* listed buildings in Cornwall Houses in Cornwall Richard Rogers buildings Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank Houses completed in 1966