Kingsgate

Elegantly proportioned, respectful to its host building and gardens, sympathetically designed, and unapologetically contemporary, this seemed like the natural solution to reimagining this stately family home. The dilapidating faux Victorian conservatory was failing thermally and had started to let in water, acting more as a barrier to the garden than a connection to it. There was also the fact that with such a big, listed building keeping it all warm is a major issue for the environment, even more so with rising energy costs. So the brief was to fix both issues, and to do so whilst reconnecting to the garden. The heavy elements float over the light ones and the rest is mostly transparent. There is a play of sunlight through the trees from inside, and finely framed views of reflected nature from the outside. A line of brick along the flower beds consolidates a traditional feeling of home. The innovative self-supporting and structurally separate new building had to be built to extremely low tolerances, with zero deflection allowing highly precise glass elements to be scribed to the existing old walls. A dedicated air source heat pump, and the zoning of the heating system, along with passive solar gain and the green roof are all new elements that have vastly improved the energy use of the building.