The Farmer’s House acts as the UK base for
AR Design Studio’s clients, who return to the
English countryside from their travels to tend
to their farmstead. Set on a private estate in
the most western part of the South Downs
National Park, the house’s rural location is its
raison d’etre.
AR Design Studio were approached by the
clients who were looking to add a completely
self- contained yet joined annexe, that would be
a space for their children and grandchildren to
‘take over’ when they were staying.
Before
The existing house had been subject to a
number of previous alterations and extensions
throughout the years which had led to it feeling
mismatched and sitting uncomfortably on the
plot. The team at AR Design Studio proposed
an extension and makeover that would wrap
everything together in a unified and elegant
form. The old and new are joined by a glazed
link that sits between the existing house and
the new annexe.
The annex, which sits to the east, is
surrounded by a large covered alfresco dining
and relaxing area. The terrace and pool sat
centrally in front of the house are tied in with
a large sweeping canopy above.
This reaches around the existing house, and
continues to the west of the plot, providing
an additional sheltered seating space. This
canopy incorporates openings for the existing
trees and partial shading elements, providing
protection to the southern facing façade with
delicate timber louvres.
In terms of updating the existing house, the
traditional geometry has been embraced,
using materiality to tie the scheme together.
The wrapping gesture is continued with
an element of Zinc, beginning on the north
elevation of the existing house and continuing
over the roof to overhang and provide shading
to the south elevation, while the remaining
facades of the existing house are now clad in
timber to match the extension.
A palette of natural and man-made materials
was carefully curated. The zinc has a strong
agricultural feel that defines the context and
client’s heritage whilst providing a protective
gesture. This is contrasted with the linear
timber cladding which acts as a contemporary,
yet rural material, and the fibre cement
provides a cool toned solidity to compliment
the warm details of timber.
Visually, the extension appears as a single
mass placed on the landscape, with the snug,
kitchen/living and dining space, utility room,
and two of 3 bedrooms on the ground floor.
Small punctuations have been made into the
timber cladding to introduce natural light, yet
their scale kept modest to protect the rooms
from the on looking driveway.
20 - www.refurbandrestore.co.uk