year: 2015
Location: Guildford, Surrey
The house, situated in the depths of rural Surrey, takes the form of two, naturally silvered, coinciding timber boxes, creating a simple, geometric footprint on the landscape. This new home has been constructed on the site of a derelict property. Remembering the footprint of the past, elements of the new dwelling reflect and retain aspects of the previous edifice - most notably the main circulation axis running through the building. Orientated from from North to South, the circulation intersects with a new axis from East to West, mapping the sun's path. Where the two axis coincide, a frameless glass atrium defines the space, allowing natural daylight to drop into the building's centre - a key requirement from the client. Even though the plan evolves around these axis, the circulation pattern is subtle and the house presents an open-plan theme with large 'picture' windows from where you can watch and enjoy the surrounding heath land.
The projects language is about a simple, cubic geometry, where bedrooms and service spaces are contained within the lesser timber box and the open-plan volume of living and kitchen are within the larger. The weathered, external larch cladding contrasts gently against the crisp, minimal interior which assumes an almost gallery like quality.
"A simple yet ingenious answer to the 21st-century, the Larch House is a beautiful glass and wood cube ." - Sunday Times
"An elegant, yet minimalist example of the archetypal timber box ." - Grand Designs