new house wharfedale
We were commissioned to design a one-off house in Wharfedale, West Yorkshire. Our proposal replaced an existing stable block with a compact detached dwelling, making the most of the topography, orientation and spectacular views afforded by the site which is located on green belt land. Our strategy was to create a discreet and partially buried development within the steeply sloping site that minimised the visual impact of the new dwelling and reduced its visual impact over the existing building arrangement. We proposed making use of orientation, form and building mass to build a low energy, low impact sustainable dwelling.
Creating an open plan living and eating area with easy access to the outdoors was important to the client. We designed a sunken living area with visual connections to the wider landscape that opened onto a west facing terrace and a wetland habitat area with naturalised planting. Careful tree planting was proposed to screen the building from the roadside level above with only a small upper storey building and chimney flue visible. The main volume of the building was a storey below hidden beneath a substantial turf roof.