Woodlands | Nicolas Tye

A modern replacement dwelling designed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings while prioritizing high-quality design and sustainability. It is crafted to preserve the site's openness through clever landscape integration, minimizing its environmental impact.

The dwelling provides five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an open-plan living arrangement, two studies, reception/family areas, utility, storage, and an integral double garage. Furthermore, the dwelling also includes a guest house with two bedrooms and one bathroom, as well as a pool house/leisure facility.

Due to the sensitive location within the Metropolitan Green Belt, we carefully considered the scale and massing to achieve less impact than that of the existing. Our strategy was to develop a proposal which integrates within the setting.

The dwelling is built into the landscape, so the lower ground floor level is a partial basement opening towards the rear, capturing downhill views over the site. The first-floor element is offset from the external envelope, reducing its appearance. The dwelling adopts a modern flat roof design lowering the roof finish level and reducing its impact.

The proposed material palette consists of marble and limestone; natural material providing longevity. Marble stone finishes the lower ground floor levels, meeting the landscape. The upper ground floor has a smooth limestone finish, with contemporary architectural detailing. The mirror glazed box on top of the building containing the Sky Lounge appears as a lighter architectural form, sitting on top of the heavier, grounded form below and nearly disappearing reflecting the surrounding trees and sky.

The project aims to minimize waste disposal by treating foul water through a treatment plant and discharging surface water back to the ground. It incorporates a highly efficient Ground Source Heat Pump system that is environmentally friendly, and the house utilizes MVHR to significantly reduce heat loss. The GSHP produces 69,191.89 kWh of heat while only consuming 19,735.18 kWh. Therefore heat production is 3.5 times higher than energy consumption. The project features high-spec insulation throughout to minimize heat loss.

There is mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR), which also reduces the heat requirement while keeping a healthy air renovation. It integrates a by-pass mode to allow fresh air and cool the house in warmer weather.

The new building meets the needs of our clients whilst also maximizing the potential of the site. The orientation and layout have evolved to exploit both the views and the sun path to allow passive solar heating through the expansive glazing. The dwelling is 3 storeys, with bedrooms arranged on the lower floor, communal living spaces on the upper ground floor, and a sky lounge area with an external roof terrace to capitalize on views.

Finally, using natural materials like all the natural stone that forms the building envelope, means that the building will have a longer lifespan with less maintenance. It also reduces the global warming potential when compared with materials whose manufacturing processes are more complex and include multiple ingredients