Private Residence, Great Missenden
In 2013 Nick Baker Architects were commissioned to design a new 5 bedroom residence near Great Missenden, in Buckinghamshire. The commission for a private client located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sought to develop a house that would fit into its landscaped context. Via a process of informed applications planning approval was successful for an uplift of 50% of the floor area of the existing house on site.
Walkway view showing the sensitie use of Western Red Cedar as a cladding material. The overhang provides shade and protection to the cedar to assit inretaining its soft red colours
Entrance View from Cobblers Hill
Concept Sketch showing the main entrance area
The design of the residence has taken its prompt from the inherent context of the site. The gentle slope from the level of the existing building to the rear northern boundary identifies a change in level of 750mm. This creates a natural terrace. By introducing a clear line of separation of level from east to west the design locates the 'living' areas to the upper southern section of the site with its wide views and 'warm' aspect and the 'sleeping and guest' areas to the lower northern location.
By offsetting the single storey forms from the central north/south axis of the original proposal, the design seeks to add the third area, the garage block, to the collection of volumes whilst at the same time forming an entrance area. Located at the lower ground floor level the garage block forms the third side to a courtyard formation to clearly delineate an entrance area to the overall composition.
View showing the garden side walkway
The clean lines of the main entrance area and generous canopy show clarity of design and excentuate the horizontal pavillion nature of the scheme
Ground floor plan layout showing the stepped areas to accommodate the natural slope in the site
The articulation of the external facade for the building has been designed to create a series of layers between the inner and the outer accommodation. Wide external covered terraces are mixed with internally lit corridors to provide continuous connections to the sylvan setting of the site. Natural daylight is brought into the inner areas but is not allowed to dominate.
A series of full height screens are used to create a 'colonnade' around the building. This buffer zone works to protect the inner glazed areas from excessive sunlight and glare as well as providing visual screening to bedrooms and from the road. The colonnades with their intermittent wider and thinner vertical screens will create an articulate shaded zone between the external and internal layers. These in turn will reflect the intermittent shaded character of the trunks of the neighbouring woodlands trees.
The walkway and stone clad columns provide screening to the roadside elevation.
Concept Sketch from the garden side emphasising the horizontal and transparent nature of the design
Early physical model investigating the overlap of the block features and main hallway transparency
“Congratulations for the building permission! Thank you very much for the project’s drawings, I’m delighted to see the final project! I look forward to the beginning of the construction”
-Marion Da
Explore a curated collection of our past work, where imagination meets strategy. Each project reflects our drive to deliver though. The building benefits from high levels of insulation to ensure excellent levels of heat retention as part of its contribution to the environment. The materials for the design have been selected with care. The upper and lower level edge bands of the colonnade are clad with grey powder coated aluminium panels defining a clear edge of the volumes.
The external panels to the screening elements are sawn sandstone and identify a vertical expression between the two bands. The external skin of the building volumes are in vertical clad red cedar and represent a softer more articulate inner layer that is related to the internal finishes.
Transparent corners enable a sense of wrap around space and connection to the external landscaping.
The model shows the courtyard arrangement of the entrance area.
The intention has been to build upon the identity of the existing landscaping of the site. The high canopy of the existing trees and the large lawn area to the south of the existing building create a woodland 'glade' character.
This simplicity has been kept as part of the landscaping scheme with the retention of the lawn areas and the inclusion of only additional trees along the northern boundary. A 'random pattern' screen similar to the colonnades, this time in Beech hedging, has been added to the south eastern boundary behind the existing perimeter fencing to provide screening from the road.
Private Residence, Great Missenden 2011–2013
Client: Private Client
Project Status: Built
Budget: £1m
Team
Nick Baker Architects
Nick Baker
Berta Sanchez
David Jarrard
Structural Engineer
TZG Partnership