The New Streat Hill House in England was built from recycled materials, including rubble from a burned-out bungalow that was on the site.
When viewed from a distance, the home is intended to resemble two barns sitting on a meadow. This was achieved by half burying the 750-square-metre residence into the south-facing slope and covering it with a meadow-planted roof.
“The landscape itself provided the material for the building,” the designer, Duncan Baker-Brown said.. “Whether that’s a standing coppiced woodland, chalk and clay, all the materials around were used, including the burned-out remnants of the old building,” he continued.
Externally, the home features brick and sweet chestnut cladding, finished with windowsills and coping made from salvaged burnt bricks and rubble.
Inside are a series of partially subterranean rooms looking out over large open-air courtyards, with a first floor above. There is also a separate single-story guest house that serves as a welcoming gatehouse, linking up to the main dwelling with a brick garden wall and timber pergola.
New Streat Hill House comprises multiple living spaces, several bedrooms and a basement with a yoga studio. The living areas are each served by semi-sheltered gardens looking out over the landscape.
Its glue-laminated structure and three-story staircase are built from timber sourced from trees felled on a nearby estate due to ash dieback – a type of fungus that kills the species.
The home’s interior palette is warm yet pared-back, retaining focus on the exposed wooden framework.
Walls are finished with plaster formed from chalk and clay from the site, and complemented by rustic brick and terrazzo floors.
“This project exemplifies the approach that we have as a practice, where you look at what is already on site and the story in the surroundings, and you use those materials before you import from elsewhere,” Duncan Baker-Brown said..
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