St John’s Lodge was originally constructed in 1894 as a family dwelling in its leafy Surrey suburban setting. It was built to the Arts & Crafts design of Walter Cave, a friend and colleague of CFA Voysey. This scheme comprises the conversion and extension of the 5,000 sq ft, Grade II listed Edwardian country house to create four houses and two apartments; the construction of a freestanding new build six unit apartment block; and a courtyard development of 12 houses in the carefully conserved 2.5 acre mature garden setting. Set within an Area of Special Residential Character the landscape issues had to be particularly sensitively handled. The central design initiative for this speculative residential development was to maintain the character and features of the listed building in its landscaped setting whilst introducing new complementary buildings to deliver the new housing in the garden. A new build two storey extension, in keeping with the original listed building, was added to the east elevation of the main house (the original service yard location). To the Southwest, at a respectful distance, a new detached apartment block was built in keeping with the original house but lower in height and nestling under the height of the adjacent mature trees. A new courtyard development was created to the south of the site. This was inspired by a historical precedent of gardeners’ accommodation positioned as an adjunct to the main house. The courtyard is a group of three new buildings arranged in a quad. There are two ranges to the south side of the courtyard each containing five family houses arranged in two groups; the north side of the courtyard is formed by a garage building ‘Stable Block’ with two apartments above. The three parts of the development are separated by a large open area laid to lawn and dominated by a number of good, mature trees which have been augmented by lush new planting so creating an appropriate setting to the large main building. The garage building plays an important part in the transition of the site from the open lawn area running south from the main house to the courtyard itself. This building appears as a modest single storey garden building in an unassuming timber board cladding from the perspective of the main house, and as single storey but with a small amount of accommodation in the roof over from the courtyard to the south. At the back of the courtyard the original garden is divided up into small manageable garden areas related to each of the houses. This allows the original border screening to be retained and houses to be comfortably sheltered from neighboring properties. Vehicular access to the site was redesigned to accommodate service vehicles and removal lorries, and parking spaces for residents have been broken up into small blocks landscaped into the setting. “People have been turning up at the site and clambering over the mud to get our number from the construction workers.” The Daily Telegraph