Lees Associates’ prime residential experience was harnessed in the design of a new 15,000 sqft residential development on a Surrey private estate. The house occupies a plot on the top of the hill on the site of an iron age fort, taking advantage of stunning views south across Surrey. As Architect and lead consultant Lees Associates successfully secured scheduled monument consent, planning consent and the consent of the managing residents’ association. Arranged around a grand elliptical central staircase, the house adopts a rational classically-inspired plan with Regency proportions and detailing. The top-lit stair is a pioneering post-tensioned solid stone structure, making it remarkably slender and providing an elegant focus to the heart of the house.