It may have won award for design but the homeowners in the north London suburb of Highgate are in a fury over the ongoing construction work by architect Mike Russum.
The construction of the house, which started in 2006 and is still going on allegedly due to planning laws, has left the locality looking like a scrap yard, residents told the Telegraph. Besides, the structure of the house, which they say resembles a giant spaceship complete with a UFO-styled elevated gangway, has brought down the overall appeal of the locality, according to the report.
Residents also allege that this construction has brought down property prices in the area lined with houses worth millions.
According to the Telegraph, the property is designed in such a way that the “the traditional relationship of living and sleeping accommodation is inverted with the bedroom and bathrooms at garden level and the living area above to enjoy the south aspect and views over London.”
Incidentally, this design won the Architecture Prize at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition last year.
Reacting to neighbors’ fierce reaction to the design, Russum told the Ham and High newspaper “certainly there has been fierce opposition by a few neighbors. We understand the concerns about the delay to its completion, which has been painfully experienced by us. The house is not conventional and explores various architectural ideas about creating a joyful home appropriate to this age. It is unashamedly modern and we accept that it will not be everybody’s cup of tea,” the Daily Telegraph reported.
Meanwhile, UFO style homes have always been a fascination for homeowners across the world. An alien spaceship house on Pensacola Beach, Florida, is a popular tourist attraction. This fiber glass house was made by a Finnish company called Oy Polykem ab in the early '70s and they called the house Futuro II, according to Roadsideamerica.com.
In Puerto Rice, the residence of a retired industrial arts teacher is designed to resemble a spaceship, complete with audio and visual effects.
