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Arts & Crafts

Buckinghamshire

Project Details

£0.5m to £0.99M

Alteration to existing property, Brownfield site, Listed Building - Grade I, Listed Building - Grade II, Listed Building - Grade II*, New Build, Para 79 house, Scheduled Ancient Monument, Sited in AONB, Sited in Greenbelt land, Sited in SSSI area, Within a Conservation Area

Practice

ConForm Architects

70 St John Street , London , EC1M 4DT , United Kingdom

Located with the Gerrards Cross Centenary Conservation Area, the area is characterised by its garden village layout with substantial detached houses set within large gardens lined by mature trees. The existing Arts and Crafts period house with its asymmetric gables and roof forms is typical of the individualist approach of the original architects of the time and this project develops this spirit in a 21st century manner. The existing front and side elevations are characterised by deep chamfered bay windows and feature roofs, projections, chimneys, and offer an intriguing and interactive zone with the external space and nature beyond. The rear elevation and rooms however had a flat, disconnected elevation and the key goal of the project was to connect these spaces to the large, impressive rear garden which would be befitting of such a property. With reference to the existing front chamfered geometry and creasing tiles that feature at key junctions, a series of deep angled thresholds are introduced across the rear and west elevations that frame views toward the mature surrounding nature and trees. The dynamic solidity of these interventions balance against the existing geometry of pitched roofs and depth to result in a house that now interacts on 360 degrees with its bucolic surroundings, allowing light and views into all parts of the property.