Winchester based architects AR Design Studio have submitted plans for a private bespoke new build house, The Well House, located in the rural village of Shawford, Winchester.

The site is hidden down a quiet residential lane with a strong visual connection to the surrounding verdant context. From the lane the site steps and slopes towards its east boundary to meet the Itchen Navigation, a SSSI and the South Downs National Park. As a result of the existing house’s location atop the highest part of the site, the traditional three storey house is largely exposed in its current location.

Upon visiting the site, it was felt that the significance of the site’s rural setting would have to inform the backbone of any design that was delivered. This rationale has been translated to the proposed design, derived from the initial concept of hunkering down into the sloping landscape to appear visually lost in the hillside against the wooded backdrop. The scheme uses a materiality of timber and brick, the timber volumes floating atop a solid brick base. From the road, the timber cladding blends with the context, whilst the heavier brick grounds the scheme.