Our client owned Upper Hayne Farm, which lies adjacent a small country lane just outside Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. He wanted to replace the only building on site, a redundant agricultural bungalow, with a contemporary private residence.
The site context is very rural, as Upper Hayne Farm lies amidst low and open countryside. The views are generally towards Brill in the North, across arable land to the gently rising hills. A tall hedge shields Upper Hayne Farm from the country lane.
We designed a 210m² private dwelling with a simple T-shaped plan. This plan form has created 2 courtyards for the approach to Upper Hayne Farm on the South. Whereas the more private Northern half of the building accommodates the habitable rooms and addresses the landscape.
There is a great sense of arrival (and privacy) when entering off the lane into the first enclosed courtyard. The second courtyard (the summer garden) is shielded from view by a division wall running north/south through the land and the house. External walls became an important design driver, allowing us to create enclosure (in the manner of the farm buildings and hedges) with clerestory lighting behind them, so that sun can percolate into the north-facing living and bedrooms. Apart from a master bedroom suite at first floor, the accommodation is all at grade, providing accessibility for the owners. The house is of timber construction with its first floor finished in anthra-zinc, to help reduce the scale, and to articulate the enclosing perimeter walls at ground floor.