The concept of this project was for a sustainable contemporary home that respects and connects with the local landscape and heritage through its scale, massing and the use of local, traditional and natural materials. The site is very challenging being in an Area of Natural Beauty, with an existing cottage on it that was loved by locals and on a windy north-east facing hillside with spectacular views. Our proposal was to remove an ugly large 1950’s extension to the thatched cottage, re-build and extend the cottage to modern environmental standards and add two contemporary blocks of a similar scale and order of height as the cottage.