Claremont Road

Robustly constructed of a rich palette of natural materials, the flexible internal spaces create a new home for a busy family. The landlocked nature of the site and an interrogation of the client brief prompted designs for a modest three bedroom dwelling ranged around two courtyard gardens. Internally an enfilade of spaces allows glimpsed long views through rooms to the courtyards and creates a rich, ever changing light within the house. Vast concealed sliding doors enable the flexible reconfiguration of living spaces, allowing for different family activities to coexist peacefully and creates a sense of generosity that belies the house’s diminutive footprint. The construction reuses sections of the previous garage structure, a practical approach to reducing embodied carbon and disruption to neighbours. This creative reuse is supplemented by the use of everyday and local materials which, together with long standing relationships with local contractors and craftspeople, have enabled the construction of a durable and high performing new home on a limited budget. Delight is derived from the use of thoughtfully selected materials carefully assembled by skilled craftspeople including Bath ashlar stone sourced from a local quarry. The fenestration is generous in scale and deeply recessed, creating a rich play of shadows across the facades. The robust timber windows, made by a local joiner, flood natural light deep into the rooms. Internally the roof timbers are exposed, adding height and texture to the spaces. With a view to improving biodiversity on the previously barren site, the new wildflower meadow roof was soon a mass of swaying grasses and tiny yellow flowers. The new building carefully negotiates the complexities of the small site, whilst creating a robust but warm new home which is gracefully weathering family life.