This house sits on the banks of the river Loddon, near Wargrave. We based our concept on three elements; living, guest and bedroom spaces, to create ‘wings’ that adopt a pinwheel form, raised up on columns to deal with flooding from the river. A dark, zinc-clad wing is pushed forward to receive an entrance staircase that slices up into an open timber lined hood, with a glazed room to the side containing a guest suite and gym. The stair arrives onto a balcony and entrance – a central hall space – this is the day room, dedicated to outdoor living that leads out onto a large deck. Following the zig-zag of the pinwheel, a staircase then leads down to a garden deck, with boardwalk that arrives at a landing stage on the river’s edge. The house is to be steel framed, with timber stud infill; cedar and zinc-clad, with aluminium framed windows and single-ply roofing. The house was completed in December 2008.
The brief segregated the house into three distinct zones; an open living space; a guest room/ gym area; and a bedroom area. We based our concept on these three elements to create wings that adopt a pinwheel form. The whole ensemble is raised up on columns to deal with the fact that the river is subject to seasonal flooding to a depth of just over one metre. The house occupies roughly the same position as the existing, and is set parallel to the river but as the plot twists towards the lane, arrival is angled around an entrance court. A dark zinc-clad wing is pushed forward receive a staircase that slices up into an open hood that is timber lined, with a glazed room to the side containing guest suite that doubles up as a gym. The stair arrives onto a an entrance balcony, with glazed door leading into a central hall space – this is the day room, dedicated to outdoor living and leads out onto a large deck, complete with hot tub beneath a zinc canopy. Following the zig-zag of the pinwheel, a staircase then leads down to a garden deck, with boardwalk that arrives at a landing stage on the river’s edge.
