This contemporary timber-framed family home is situated on a secluded plot in the former grounds of a stately home in Twyford – a small village near Winchester. It was built and designed for the Smith family, who had been looking for a home that was close enough to London yet with a rural character. After a long search this plot became available and Baufritz were commissioned to design and build Jill and Lloyd’s dream home.
On arrival, the house appears as a single-storey Modernist pavilion, whose quiet architectural language responds respectfully to the nearby mansion. The simple portico structure features a dark zinc-clad frieze running beneath the flat roof, supported by slender columns. Beneath deep eaves, elegant horizontal timber cladding is combined with zinc panelling and full height windows. Moving around the site reveals a second wing – here white render develops the architectural language and a second storey is revealed as the slope of the garden falls away.
The house is arranged as two distinct areas – an open plan living wing with more private and intimate spaces organised over the two storeys of the second wing. On entering, a large kitchen gives way to a spacious dining and living area, with long beautiful views through a series of floor to ceiling windows. A deep timber verandah runs around this level, offering sheltered and shaded spaces for relaxing and entertaining beneath the eaves. A short run of stairs down to the main master suite and a second ensuite bathroom, while a two further bedrooms and a study are arranged on the first floor – all with elevated view across the garden and surrounding landscape. Finally, a compact basement area contains a private music and cinema room where the family can relax, and listen to music or watch favourite films.
The logistics of building a house on this constrained site were always going to be a challenge. Because Baufritz houses are prefabricated at the company’s factory in Germany and use timber frame construction, building traffic and time on site was kept to a minimum with prefabricated panels transported by HGV to a nearby location and shuttled to the site on smaller vehicles. Structural joins were concealed by carefully-applied render and cladding on site, allowing the house to read as a precisely detailed and beautifully crafted piece of design.
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Baufritz (UK) Ltd.
The Workplace
Oaktington Rd
Griton
Cambridge
CB3 0QH
email: [email protected]
web: www.baufritz.co.uk