This family house is located on a large plot in the Chiltern Hills between the villages of Skirmett and Hambleden. The Chilterns form a long stretch of rolling chalk downs that run through eastern and southern England with over twenty per cent covered by woodland, making it one of the most heavily wooded areas in the country. It was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.
The site was previously occupied by a two-storey house with a number of outbuildings including two garages, a summer house, large stables, a gym, a greenhouse and an outdoor swimming pool. The development presented an opportunity to restore a typical landscape by removing all conflicting features that had been superimposed onto it. In addition, conifers and other recent planting within and around the original woodlands were removed.
Presenting itself as a large dam-like earthwork, the single-storey house is embedded in a field facing south-west towards the valley. A deep loggia stretching across the entire width of the building mediates between the private interior space and the expansive landscape. The main living spaces open onto the loggia, while the ancillary rooms, further into the house, open onto smaller courtyards. The courtyards vary in character and provide close contact with nature while the main living quarters offer expansive views into the valley. The building, accessible via a ramp at the north-east of the site, is essentially buried in the landscape. The largest of the four (sunken) courtyards becomes a working area reminiscent of a traditional farmyard. It also provides access to the various areas of the house and connects visually to the land below through an opening to the loggia. This opening also separates the guest quarters from the main body of the house.
The concrete roof is covered with topsoil from the site and planted with native grasses, while the walls are made of brick, left exposed both inside and out. The white colour of the bricks and the lime mortar is reminiscent of the chalk beneath the house. The house appears as a natural escarpment in the landscape while affirming itself as a man-made structure.
Date:2009-2013
Gross floor area:888 m²
Client:Private
Design architect:David Chipperfield Architects, London
Director:Franz Borho
Project architect:Patrick Ueberbacher
Landscape architect:Christopher Bradley-Hole
Structural engineer:Alan Baxter Associates
Services engineer:Spink Property LLP
Quantity surveyor:Spink Property LLP
General contractor:Spink Construction ltd.
Photography:Rik Nys, Richard Davies (model photo)
This family house is located on a large plot in the Chiltern Hills between the villages of Skirmett and Hambleden. The Chilterns are part of the system of chalk downs that run through eastern and southern England, with over twenty percent covered by woodland, making it one of the most heavily wooded areas in the country. It has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1965.
The site was previously occupied by a two-story house with a number of outbuildings, including two garages, a summer house, large stables, a gym, a greenhouse, and an outdoor swimming pool. This array of structures, together with hard landscaping, had accumulated in an ad hoc manner with little relationship to each other or to their environment. The proposed development presented an opportunity to restore a typical landscape by removing all conflicting features that had been superimposed onto it. In addition, the conifers and suburban planting from within and around the original woodlands were removed. The mosaic of small fields is reinstated by restoring the native hedgerows, while areas of new native woodland planting have been identified, and woodland management has been introduced.
Presenting itself as a large earthwork, like a dam sitting on the cusp of the slope, the single-story house is embedded in the field facing southwest towards the valley. A generous loggia stretching across the whole width of the building mediates between the private interior space and the expansive landscape.
The main living spaces open onto the loggia, while the ancillary rooms, further into the house, open onto smaller courtyards. All the courtyards differ in character and provide close contact with nature, as opposed to the long-distance views into the valley from the main living quarters. The building, accessible via a ramp at the northeast of the site, is essentially buried in the landscape. The largest of the four (sunken) courtyards becomes a working area reminiscent of the farmyards in the Hambleden Valley. The entrance courtyard provides access to the various areas of the house and connects to the land below via the loggia. This opening also separates the guest quarters from the main body of the house.
The concrete roof is covered with topsoil from the site and planted with native grass, while the walls are made of brick, left visible both inside and out. The white color of the bricks and the lime mortar is reminiscent of the chalk beneath the house. On the one hand, the house appears as a natural escarpment in the landscape, while on the other, it affirms itself as a man-made structure expressed by the robust brick columns placed in front.