Bluebell House
Finchampstead, Royal
Berkshire
In a mature
woodland this house aims to establish
a well-considered relationship between the landscape setting for the house and
the wider rural context. Currently the proposed site consists of a small glade meadow.
Within the site boundary there are numerous landscape features that exist
albeit in an un-managed state. Our intention is to provide a design where
building form and landscape are one harmonious entity the division of which is unclear.
The facade
is mainly glazed under the deep overhanging roof. The small sections of wall
punctuating the windows are constructed from handmade brick with lime mortar
providing a soft honey appearance similar to the surrounding soil. Window
openings are generally not treated as ‘punched holes’ but breaks in the wall
structure. The curved veranda around the house is a soft radiused form
carefully cast in concrete and polished to give the house a very deliberate
connection with the ground, a soft curved framing margin that mediated between
the house and the long grasses, bluebells and wildflowers.
In order to
provide good solar orientation for passive heating / daylighting strategies a
high proportion of glazing has been provided on southern facades and a lower
proportion to the northern aspect. It is recognised that large expanses of
glazing are not evident within traditional vernacular architecture but are
essential to achieving low carbon efficiencies.
The
local character is a relatively diverse one with many examples of every period
of vernacular architecture from Saxo-Norman churches, early cruck construction
dwellings, formal Georgian and some less successful housing from the 1970s and ‘80s.
Perhaps a representation can be gained by considering the nearest local
villages where the building materials used are as diverse as the architectural
styles. This reflects the availability of different materials at different
periods.
Project Name: Bluebell House (Para 79 House)
Location: Finchampstead, Royal Berkshire
Project Credits
Architect: Kirkland Fraser Moor Architects
Client: Private
Structural
Engineer: Expedition Engineering
Services
Engineer: Atelier 10
Planning
Consultant: Rural Solutions