House in Wendover

The design concept was to create an environmentally friendly and open plan house with the flexibility to change the use of the interior space. The rooms were located so that the living/dining areas and bedrooms all face the garden to give privacy to, and from, the surrounding houses. A light and airy feel was created by high ceilings and full height double glazed aluminium sliding doors which face south-east, to the garden, and with the benefit of the summer sun; this deliberately blurs the distinction between outside and in. The overhang of the first floor gives shade during the height of summer.

To create these large open spaces a steel frame construction was required. The design was developed with a meadow roof, external green oak cladding to the first floor and local brick to the ground floor. The walls were designed with 500mm thick insulation and floor slabs constructed of concrete for thermal mass and good acoustic properties between floors.

To create flexibility the upstairs reception room can be divided into two bedrooms: this is achieved by a moving wall housed in the wardrobe and that slides into position down the middle of the room. The large red sliding door upstairs allows the bedroom and en-suite bathroom to be private for guests or open plan for a family visiting. The acoustic screen in the living room forms a door between the hall and the living room and when open conceals the TV.

The external oak cladding will, over time, weather to a soft silver colour and will blend with the existing and newly planted trees.