Private Client

Having recently moved out of London for a slower pace of family life in Hertfordshire our client purchased a plot containing a small central bungalow. Seeking to demolish the existing house and build a new home in the coming years DEDRAFT produced a feasibility study, investigating potential siting of the house on the plot addressing issues of adding an additional storey, reducing existing ground levels, expanding the footprint and building mass, potential overlooking and maintaining the privacy between adjacent houses as well as the integration of more sustainable features both in terms of materials, finish and buildings services.

With the clients passion for mid-century houses our early design explorations sought to look at the composition of unashamedly functional spaces, developing strong geometric forms that emphasise verticality and horizontality, introducing a strong relationship with the outdoors, minimal ornamentation giving a more stripped-back, simple aesthetic, As the design developed our intention was to utilise material differences to create a distinct aesthetic of stacked volumes that break down the increased built volume that would now occupy the plot. The importance of light versus heavy structure, the entrance of light and vistas both from within and on approach and from the neighbouring roads and village.

As the plot lies within the Chilterns we were obliged to make direct references to local materials, textures and colours of existing houses the enable the new-build to contrast, yet complement the current local hotchpotch vernacular.