ProjectOolite House
ClientPrivate
LocationCotswolds
StatusCompleted
A Highly Environmental Contemporary Home Emerges From The Hillside. RIBA Award Shortlisted.
Oolite House is a generous family home nestled sensitively into a sloping site in the Cotswolds National Landscape. The home takes it name and inspiration from the distinctive Oolitic limestone that surrounds it.
The topography of the site shapes its form and massing, cutting gently into the hillside to create a deep rooting to the land. Natural materials including limestone and Douglas Fir timber connect the house further with its natural surroundings, while views are carefully considered for both the inhabitant and their neighbours.
The Financial Times calls it a home where the landscape led the design. Read the article to explore how our design of Oolite House responds directly to the contours of its sensitive environment.
A Home Submerged In The Hillside
The story of Oolite House begins in the Jurassic period, when Oolitic limestone was formed in a shallow sea. Over time, this golden stone was lifted and shaped by natural forces, with springs emerging where it meets bands of clay. Together, these processes created the valleys and escarpments that give the area their distinctive landscape today.
This geological history was central to our design approach, creating a home that would respect the ancient formation of the site, while enhancing the landscape for future generations.
A Quiet Presence In The Landscape
From the village, the house appears modest and understated, with single-storey forms in natural timber and limestone peeking above the dry stone wall and surrounding greenery. A sheltered path along the top of the site guides visitors down to the partially subterranean entrance, offering a sequence that allows the house to reveal itself gradually while framing rural views towards the neighbouring Grade II listed buildings and the village beyond.
The Layered Form
As the land falls away to the south, the full three-storey structure of Oolite House is gradually revealed. A stone stair guides visitors down to the main entrance, immediately opening panoramic views between the eastern and western wings. Two interlocking volumes, clad in locally sourced stone and ash, frame a sunken Central Terrace, which forms the heart of the home. The layered formation of the home allows key living spaces to open directly onto the terraces, connecting interior and exterior at every level.
The intermediate level houses the family’s bedrooms, with a bespoke staircase by carpenter Tim Gaudin leading down to the main living spaces. To the east, the open-plan kitchen and dining area features a full-height sloping ceiling that echoes the contours of the site, while the living room in the western wing maintains direct visual links to the terrace. Supporting spaces, including a TV room, pantry, and plant room, are tucked into the deepest parts of the plan, making considered use of the natural topography.
Soft, Natural Interiors
Inside, the interiors by YAM Studios create a calm, tactile, and timeless atmosphere. Natural clay plaster and bespoke joinery imbue warmth and texture, while a neutral palette gives a contemporary feel. Generous glazing draws daylight deep into the plan, framing views to the garden, the surrounding trees, and village rooftops, while carefully maintaining privacy.
A Home Belonging To Its Landscape
While a distinctively contemporary home, Oolite House belongs to its landscape, shaped by ancient geology, and leaving a lasting legacy for future generations.
Oolite House FAQs
Where is Oolite House located?
Oolite House is located in a rural village within the rolling hills and ancient woodland of the Cotswolds. The home is embedded directly into the contours of a sloping hillside within a protected local conservation area.
What materials was Oolite House built from, and why?
Oolite House was built using locally quarried oolitic limestone and thermally modified ash timber sourced from trees felled by ash dieback. These natural materials were chosen to lower carbon emissions, blend the home seamlessly into the traditional Cotswolds landscape, and prevent it from overshadowing the neighboring listed property.
Is Oolite House a Paragraph 84 project?
No, Oolite House is not a Paragraph 84 project because its specific site location did not require meeting those specific isolated-housing planning terms. However, our team utilised our extensive expertise in navigating highly restricted Paragraph 84 rural landscapes to successfully overcome the complex planning, historical, and geological challenges of this site.
Who was the architect behind Oolite House?
Oolite House was designed by the London-based architecture practice Studio Bark, led by director Sarah Broadstock. The studio took a landscape-led approach to design a three-level home that descends gracefully with the natural gradient of the hill.
Press
Awards
2026 Shortlisted RIBA South West and Wessex Awards
Consultants
Main contractor: Cranatt Construction
Interior Design: YAM Studios
Joinery: Tim Gaudin
Landscape Architects: Portus and Whitton
Photography: Nick Dearden
