ABOUT THIS PROJECT

The site is situated on the side of a steep hill located between Huddersfield and Holmfirth in Yorkshire. The clients brief was to demolish the existing dilapidated pebble dashed house and build a new three storey contemporary house suitable for modern family living.

As the site is in the greenbelt which restricted the size of the new house to being no materially largerthan the existing, and to make use of the steeply sloping site, the house was set into the hillside so that its mass was less visible, with the garage being set fully underground in a full footprint basement which was required to store the clients collection of cars. Multiple layout concepts were designed that developed the tiering of the landscape around the house to give each floor access to the terraced garden and balcony spaces, maximising the connection of the inside spaces to outside through fully retractable glazed sliding doors.

To make the most of the excellent views up and down the valley below, the living accommodation, including the large open plan space containing the kitchen, dining and lounge, was located on the top floor, and the orientation of the house was cranked to allow the second, more private lounge, to focus on the better view up the valley and towards the sunset. The bedrooms were positioned efficiently in a line on the lower floor and all had excellent full views, with the master again enjoying prime location in the end room facing up the valley.

The external materiality of each floor was expressed differently to emphasise the layering of the building: the upper floor was in black zinc cladding reminiscent of agricultural buildings in the area, with the lower floor built from local Yorkshire stone.

A second version of the house was developed that simplified the cranked form into a more rationalised linear shape that maintained the benefits of the tiered house set into the hillside landscape and reduced overall costs for the client.

If you have plans for a project similar to this or would like more information about our domestic architecture services please don’t hesitate to get in touch.