Design of a dream
Fate dictated our path to the Caribbean, says Rosalind Pickavance and her husband Keith who built their own property in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
WE WERE BOTH captivated by the charm and beauty of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the incredible crystal clear turquoise waters and powder sand, the friendliness and frankness of the people and the laid back lifestyle The weather is just perfect with a constant cooling breeze of the Trade Winds Just for fun and to see more of the islands an estate agent showed us some plots of land up for sale.
That was five years ago and land was still relatively cheap especially parcels back from the waterfront. One day she took us to Chalk Sound and as we drove over the brow of the hill and saw the waters stretched out in front of us we were just blown away by the colour and beauty. Inevitably there was this one incredible plot of land running down to the water with the most stunning views. We decided to buy it there and then. There was the usual angst of doing the deal, will they won’t they accept our offer –that sort of thing, but the legal side was easy with the services of a very professional lawyer on the island. I am not sure if it is because it is still a British Colony but all that side of it together with obtaining the building permits and final certificates is all very straightforward providing you hire the services of a good lawyer, builder and an architect on the island.
It is also reassuring to know that you can not just bulldoze the land and tear up all the natural vegetation in fact you have to landscape around the house before you are given the fi nal occupancy certificate. There were no bureaucratic headaches. Keith wanted to design a house that was sympathetic to the north-facing gully that sloped steeply down to the water at the bottom of the plot. My training in the art department had taught me model making and I made a number of these from Keith’s sketches to help develop and refine our ideas. It helped us to understand the possibilities of the site and levels and I knew we were both on the same track. Eventually, we used these to illustrate to the island-architect (who we employed to produce the construction drawings and permits), what we expected the end result to look like. I took a course in AutoCAD,draughting on computer, so that I could communicate with our island-architect via email. It also meant that I could design, and draw for construction, the detailing we wanted. Basically, Keith conceived the form, spacial arrangements, services and mechanics of how the house would function and I added the treatments, colour and finish. Funnily enough we never fell out really!
We did have to comply with Florida Building Code standards which take into account the need to build for the effects of a hurricane and the Turks and Caicos development authority restrict the height of the building and distance from the front of the site within which you can build. You also have to build so many feet back from the waterfront and the boundaries and you can not clear the land until you have the permit and then only the building area.
This is in order to protect the natural habitation. If I had to categorise the type of design we ended up with then I suppose it might be modern Caribbean meets Mexican, with 30’s simplicity! We sold our house in Wiltshire and started construction in December 2003.
It took a year to build with KBC Construction. The standard of the workmanship is very high. They work hard and consistently, we were assigned our own crew and they stuck to the job. We would visit the island every six or eight weeks and the rest was done via emails with photos and through drawings and sketches feverishly hurled across the ether. It really was surprisingly painless and great fun. We moved in just before Christmas 2004 and lived there for three months so that we could be hands on with the finishing touches. We had to landscape the garden to a certain standard before we were granted our completion certificate and now one year later it looks as if it’s all always been there. I brought over a cutting of a Marseille Fig, the tree having been reluctantly left behind in my garden in Wiltshire; the original was introduced to Lambeth Palace by one of my ancestors in the 15th century. It would give him great pleasure I am sure to know that it is thriving in the Caribbean sun.
We go over as much as possible and in a few years when Keith moves towards retirement we intend to live there for longer periods. We love the life, we feel much healthier, take more exercise, eat well and have lots of projects waiting for us to enjoy as well as friendships to develop.
