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The Wilderness, Suffolk
The Wilderness, Suffolk
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The Wilderness, Suffolk
The
Wilderness is a 750 sq m new-build country house in the Suffolk countryside
designed by London-based Paul+O Architects.
The design
draws on a
European architectural language and is one of the few built
examples of houses granted planning permission under PPG7 clause 3.21, a planning policy
guidance note passed by MP John Gummer in 1997 in the UK to permit planning
consent for isolated new houses in the countryside if they “are truly outstanding in terms
of Architecture and landscape design and would
significantly enhance its immediate setting and wider surroundings”.
Following completion of the house former MP
John Gummer praised the project for its architectural
merit and sensitivity to the site, adding that it wasprecisely the kind of
country house he had in mind when he introduced the PPG7 exception clause. The
house has also won support from CABE (Commission for Architecture & the
Built Environment), the
Suffolk Preservation Society and the Suffolk Society of Architects.
The
country house tradition is a significant part of England’s heritage, but with very
few examples built post war. The Wilderness sets a precedent for the new
English country house in the 21st Century. Unlike its predecessors, which
follow the tradition of the house dominating the landscape, the Wilderness sits
modestly in a clearing of a wood, its sculptural asymmetrical form bringing a restrained
grandeur to the picturesque setting.
The house combines traditional materials with
modern detailing and construction methods. The asymmetrical volumetric massing
with large cantilevers is achieved with a steel structure. Traditional and
local materials, including oak and flint, and a warm grey render are used to
harmonise the house with its woodland setting.
The
existing grid of the site, formed by rides and hedgerows, generated a cruciform
plan which exploits aspect and shelter and opens up all elevations to the
surrounding landscape. The ground floor elevations of the house are largely
transparent, dissolving the boundary between inside and out and making one feel
surrounded by the landscape. The first floor overhang is a contemporary
interpretation of the traditional Suffolk medieval timber-framed house with its
projected upper storeys.
Inside the
interiors are arranged as a series of generous but intimate spaces for the
client to enjoy alone or in the company of guests.
A double
height entrance hall with staircase and gallery creates a grand arrival point.
The arrangement of spaces is in the tradition of the later 19th
Century revivalist country houses which in turn reinterprets the medieval
house. and where the vertical spaces act as a counterpoint to the long
horizontal vistas which run the length of the house.
The hall
is screened from the living room by a spine wall, painted dark olive, which
bisects the house, continuing the line of an existing hedgerow outside. To the
left (East) is the Studio/Office and the Library/Study. To the west is the
double height Kitchen/Dining, the service areas and further along the swimming
pool. The upper floor accommodates 6 bedrooms. All south facing bedrooms have
external terraces.
The house integrates modern environmental
strategies such as rainwater harvesting, grey-water recycling and solar
panels.
The
approach to the landscaping has been to preserve and enhance the existing soft
and untamed qualities of the existing woodland so as to provide a contrast with
the precise architecture of the house. The garden has been enriched with trees,
shrubs and perennials native to the area and contemporary sculptures and water
features have been integrated into the woodland setting.
Wilderness is a 750 sq m new-build country house in the Suffolk countryside
designed by London-based Paul+O Architects.
The design
draws on a
European architectural language and is one of the few built
examples of houses granted planning permission under PPG7 clause 3.21, a planning policy
guidance note passed by MP John Gummer in 1997 in the UK to permit planning
consent for isolated new houses in the countryside if they “are truly outstanding in terms
of Architecture and landscape design and would
significantly enhance its immediate setting and wider surroundings”.
Following completion of the house former MP
John Gummer praised the project for its architectural
merit and sensitivity to the site, adding that it wasprecisely the kind of
country house he had in mind when he introduced the PPG7 exception clause. The
house has also won support from CABE (Commission for Architecture & the
Built Environment), the
Suffolk Preservation Society and the Suffolk Society of Architects.
The
country house tradition is a significant part of England’s heritage, but with very
few examples built post war. The Wilderness sets a precedent for the new
English country house in the 21st Century. Unlike its predecessors, which
follow the tradition of the house dominating the landscape, the Wilderness sits
modestly in a clearing of a wood, its sculptural asymmetrical form bringing a restrained
grandeur to the picturesque setting.
The house combines traditional materials with
modern detailing and construction methods. The asymmetrical volumetric massing
with large cantilevers is achieved with a steel structure. Traditional and
local materials, including oak and flint, and a warm grey render are used to
harmonise the house with its woodland setting.
The
existing grid of the site, formed by rides and hedgerows, generated a cruciform
plan which exploits aspect and shelter and opens up all elevations to the
surrounding landscape. The ground floor elevations of the house are largely
transparent, dissolving the boundary between inside and out and making one feel
surrounded by the landscape. The first floor overhang is a contemporary
interpretation of the traditional Suffolk medieval timber-framed house with its
projected upper storeys.
Inside the
interiors are arranged as a series of generous but intimate spaces for the
client to enjoy alone or in the company of guests.
A double
height entrance hall with staircase and gallery creates a grand arrival point.
The arrangement of spaces is in the tradition of the later 19th
Century revivalist country houses which in turn reinterprets the medieval
house. and where the vertical spaces act as a counterpoint to the long
horizontal vistas which run the length of the house.
The hall
is screened from the living room by a spine wall, painted dark olive, which
bisects the house, continuing the line of an existing hedgerow outside. To the
left (East) is the Studio/Office and the Library/Study. To the west is the
double height Kitchen/Dining, the service areas and further along the swimming
pool. The upper floor accommodates 6 bedrooms. All south facing bedrooms have
external terraces.
The house integrates modern environmental
strategies such as rainwater harvesting, grey-water recycling and solar
panels.
The
approach to the landscaping has been to preserve and enhance the existing soft
and untamed qualities of the existing woodland so as to provide a contrast with
the precise architecture of the house. The garden has been enriched with trees,
shrubs and perennials native to the area and contemporary sculptures and water
features have been integrated into the woodland setting.
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