In the main bedroom, a bank of drawers and cupboards, some faced with a minutely patterned wood veneer, were designed to follow the line of the windows and walls. More light is thrown into the room from interior porthole windows, so when you get to the deep bathtub, it seems more like a small boat than a bath.From the outside, Ammonite's distinctive shape seems to merge quite naturally with its surroundings. This can be explained by the use of empire stone, white with glass cut into it, and the remarkable domed copper roof, which is already turning a pleasing green Yet there is humour to the building. From one angle it appears almost like a steamship, with a funnel and decks.
Inside the cloakroom, a circular "everlasting floor" stops you in your tracks. "Just try it after a few drinks," Carol laughs ruefully.Alongside the house, concrete "igloos" with domes of copper house the recording studio where Vince Clarke works. The walls are lined with recording equipment and keyboards and it was built deep into the ground. Air-conditioned and sound-proofed, it could be adapted to other uses.This plot of land in Chertsey has a rock pedigree that stretches back to the Sixties. Behind the recording studio, an elegant garden storeroom has been built in place of a swimming pool that was once the notorious resting place of a car belonging to one of The Who.Now it is Vince Clarke's turn to move on and he is selling the property for around £2.5m. "When I first saw it, it was nothing like I had imagined," says Carol.
"I would never have thought that something built from concrete and glass could be so amazing. But it's always men who fall in love with it first."Ammonite is being sold for £2.5m through Knight Frank: 020-7629 8171. "I have just returned from a holiday in Barcelona where I had the most fantastic time. I absolutely fell in love with the city and, as I've been thinking for a while that I should buy somewhere abroad, I came to the conclusion that perhaps this would be the place to choose. I'd quite like to be based right in the city in a gorgeous old apartment so that I could enjoy the night life and architecture, but on the other hand a rural retreat sounds tempting, too."If I wanted to let the property, which would be best? At this stage I would just like to get some more information on how best to approach buying in Barcelona and would like to know more about the market."A friend tells me that Spanish prices have gone through the roof during the past few years and he claims that I won't make any money if I ever want to sell."I'm not too worried as I'd probably keep the place for many years but I also don't want to throw money away either. Can you help?"THREE PROPERTIES FOR LUISA TO VIEWProperty one: Flat in RavalPrice: €189,000 (about £131,200).Agent: Gesti Casa.Tel: 00 34 93 412 1425.Agent's details: This is a small, top-floor apartment in a 20-year-old building, less than five minutes' walk from the Ramblas Perfect as a pied-?erre and for letting on an ad-hoc basis. There is 35m2 of living space with a 22m2 terrace accessed from the living room and further 28m2 terrace above, reached via spiral staircase The apartment needs total renovation.
