Project story · United Kingdom
A house that arrives before it entertains
In the British countryside, Country Residence sets brick, timber and glass around a tall entrance hall and a terrace that faces the pool.
By byJOOM · Country Residence · Residential
Arrival first, terrace second
Most large houses are planned around their best view and the entrance is left to look after itself. Country Residence reverses the order. The plan is arranged around arrival first and the terrace second, so that the way you come into the house is as considered as the way you sit outside it. A tall entrance hall rises behind a panel of glass, and from the front it reads as a lantern.
Warm brick, timber and stone
The materials are the ones that make a house feel settled: warm brick, timber and stone. Brick gives the front a calm weight. Timber, in vertical slats, softens the long glazed walls and warms the evening light. Stone steps and planting at the door are quiet and unshowy. Together they give a large house the manner of a family one.
Glass that ties inside to garden
Large panes of glass tie inside to garden. At dusk the pictures show the rooms lit from within and the pool lit from below, so the whole elevation reads as one continuous space between the house and the lawn. Rooms open to the garden and the terrace in a way that makes the outside a part of the plan.
A home for a family and their guests
The house is for a family and their guests. That is a simple brief and a demanding one. It asks for a tall hall to arrive in, rooms that can be used together or apart, and a pool for summer evenings. The design keeps these things in a clear order so that a quiet day and a full house both feel natural.
Natural materials that weather well and a calm, balanced front.
A calm, balanced front
The front is calm and balanced. Two wings of brick and timber meet at a glazed centre, and nothing in the composition is asked to shout. Natural materials that weather well do the rest, which is why the house is designed to settle into its garden rather than stand out from it.
Weathering well
Brick darkens gracefully, timber silvers, stone mellows. A house made from them does not have to be repainted to stay in fashion. Country Residence is a design built on that patience.
This article describes design intention. The images are design visualisations, not photographs of a finished building. See the Disclaimers.