Wildfowl Cottage | 5th Studio

This small project saves a listed house and provides an innovative response to flood risk, establishing a new model for this topical challenge. An extension to the refurbished house radically reinvents the conventional ‘lean-to’ to create a refuge from flooding whilst respecting the original character of the main house. An elevated extension is articulated from the house and provides not only a safe-haven from 100-year floods but a beautiful top-lit room with expansive horizontal views across the landscape. The relationships to landscape and to the adjacent house, are reinforced by an adaptable wall, natural light and ventilation, to create wonderful and deceptively rich space.