This new 2,863 sq ft two-storey house, within a conservation area with buildings that date from the 13th century to the 19th century, was constructed with a structural post-and-beam timber frame built around three sides of a courtyard garden. The frame, concealed at ground floor level by rendered walls, emerges at first floor with large windows under a high level flat roof with clerestory windows or timber infill. A conservatory at the heart of the house provides a transition between the inside spaces and the protected landscaped courtyard. Three monopitch pavilion structures, with black weather boarding on the upper storeys and tiled roofs, contain the kitchen, living room and bedrooms. For structural reasons steel beams were incorporated into the frame to allow clear spaces in the double –height rooms. And load-bearing masonry was used for then walls around the courtyard. Access to the landscaped garden is by way of a bridge across a formal pond. As the architect said of his design: “The house is a unique, polite re-working of local techniques and materials, yet offers our clients the modern home they require”. Photography: David Churchill (01273 240918)
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