This house is a replacement dwelling on the abandoned foundations of an older structure set in open countryside. The H-shape plan has blocks splayed some degrees apart to provide a wider south-facing patio, protected by the wind from the splayed building forms. The mixing of traditional forms (the agricultural barn) with the precise detail of contemporary construction produces a hybrid style that embraces both modern and traditional precedent. Seen from a distance the house is sited on a crest overlooking gently rolling farmland, the new building's form recalling earlier settlements. In the west pavilion, living / dining / kitchen areas are characterised by the exposed structure of triangular steel trusses that divide the pavilion into three interlocking zones. These spaces are used together for family life and social gathering, or in the case of the living area (by means of a large sliding screen) as an enclosed room enjoying uninterrupted views to the landscape. The east wing is entirely different in organisation and character. Here bedrooms and bathrooms are arranged as individual cellular spaces, accessed from short corridors on each level, with upper floor accommodation partially contained within the sloping roof. The client has commissioned and built a house that will respond to the changing requirements of family life over the years. The clearly defined social spaces within the west pavilion, their sliding screens that open up for uninterrupted use, contrast with the more intimately scaled rooms in the east wing, both contributing to that critical balance between the universal and particular requirements of residential design.