Sweet Acre
This project was worked on while at Absolute Architecture Ltd., Bidford-on-Avon, in 2021.
The brief described a modest four-bed home: a modern take on the British timber vernacular that takes advantage of the sloping site.
The dwelling was positioned in the corner of the plot, maximising the garden space and making the most of the site’s elevated position. For simplicity, it takes the form of two distinct wings, orientated to the south and garden.
The larger wing, stretching from west to east, houses first-floor living spaces to benefit from the views and natural light. The master bedroom, also on the first floor for convenient access, naturally finds itself to one side as a protruding gable that also works to define the entrance.
To sensitively integrate the home into the sloping site while celebrating its primary form, a ‘stacked’ structural formation was opted for over a ‘spread’ one. This meant less landscaping intervention, reduced foundations and better thermal retention.
The first floor is offset to overhang the ground floor, bolstering its significance, improving the home’s readability and, with planting, diminishing the ground floor visibility. This distinction is reinforced by the, structurally honest, choice of materials, with ‘heavy’ locally-sourced stone at the base, supporting a ‘lightweight’ timber-clad storey on top.
This overhang and concealing planting also ‘nests’ the ground floor bedrooms; creating secure, cosy and comfortable spaces connected to nature.
The north face of the pitched roof extends past the primary truss to bring natural light to the otherwise buried ground floor spaces. This sectional shift also allows for a mezzanine connection to the first floor.
