A new 250sqm riverside contemporary house, Esher

Contract Value: £300,000; Completion: Due December 2010

Stage: Application Planning Submitted February 2010

The initial proposals were to separate day and night time activities by providing an additional first floor to the existing 1960’s bungalow. Working very closely with our client and Elliott Wood Structural Engineers, the design process began to evolve. As the scheme developed proposals for a new building emerged that sat on different part of the site. Located more centrally the pavilion is able to hold the site, take in the best views on offer and provide a better opportunity to harmonise with the landscape. The new building also allows the family to live on site during the construction.

A pavilion in the meadow: A confrontation between nature and architecture:

An attempt to return the contact with light, air, rain, and other natural elements to the traditional Japanese life-style of Wabi Sabi, an architecture at one with nature reduced to its extremes of simplicity.

The unassuming and slightly austere volume belies a carefully composed interior, emphasising functionality and privacy. An evocative sequence of spaces; open and flowing living, dining and cooking spaces as the focal point of family life, the ground floor contains a hidden part to the house; a secluded private environment; a sanctuary for contemplation and tranquillity, for peace and harmony.

To the North, a solid front façade buffers the internal spaces from the main road and the rest of outside world. To the south a view across the wooded landscape to the river beyond whilst providing all rooms with access to light and air.

Natural materials that can be touched and affected will be used throughout. Overtime these will show the effects of weathering and human treatment, creating nostalgia in years to come.

Timber from the trees that have been cut down on the site will be carefully stacked within the steel gabions that touch the ground. Overtime succulents and species will collect here and enable the building to develop and grow with the landscape. A “green” sedum roof replaces the area of grass taken by the footprint of the building.