Berkshire House – Berkshire IIRealized

Background
Berkshire House II is a substantial 550sqm five bedroom modernist new build home in a suburban village in Berkshire.

Occupying a spectacular woodland site overlooking the river Thames, it replaces an existing dilapidated dwelling that one of the clients had grown up in.

This contemporary family home aims to be architecturally exemplary whilst also being highly energy-efficient, meeting the standard for the Code for Sustainable Homes.

At the centre of the house is a unique double height entrance and dining hall, with six-metre tall sliding glazed doors and glass walls, providing a theatrical connection between inside and out.

The Brief
The brief required a new house that would take advantage of the site and allow the owners to entertain and accommodate guests, but primarily function as an intimate working home for their family of six.

The design concept and layout of the modern house was conceived with two faces – guest accommodation, a playroom and utilitarian spaces on the public north side, and family living spaces, bedrooms overlooking the beautiful south facing mature one acre wood garden.

In the garden, two timber clad volumes ‘float’ at the level of the trees, on top of a completely glazed south facade. This was only possible with the use of deep balcony overhangs, providing crucial shading in the summer months.

Outcomes

At the front, the new house is more private, set back from the road with the use of an entrance courtyard – flanked by a garage to one side. A structural beam, trellis planting and ‘hidden’ entrance are used to provide a layered approach to reaching the front door.

Arriving into a modest entrance space, one is then gradually led into the double height entrance hall where the views of the site are finally revealed.

Materially, the house uses robust, raw and contrasting materials that were considered not only in respect of neighbouring properties, but also the dominant landscape.

Danish grey brickwork compliments whitened Canadian Western Red Cedar cladding, polished concrete floors and milled-anodised glazing frames.