ProjectWater Farm

LocationRaydon, Suffolk

ClientPrivate

StatusComplete

A modern off-grid family home that responds to the local architecture and landscape

A modern off-grid family home that responds to the local architecture and landscape

Water Farm was designed to nurture the needs of a young family of five, with strong historic ties to the site and a desire for off-grid living. The result is a unique and functional five bedroom off-grid home. The proposal is on the edge of Dedham Vale National Landscape, and has been designed with sensitivity to local character.

Model of Water Farm

Reflecting local character with integrity

The proposal translates recognisable, local features into a unique yet sensitive rural home. The defining characteristics of the local area are reinterpreted, influenced by building typologies found in the nearby villages.

Many of the key design features were informed by traditional farmsteads and traditional timber frame buildings. Integrity is achieved using traditional, natural materials, and the form is logically inspired by the surrounding landscape. A heavy weight plinth defines the ground floor, contrasting with the sculptural timber clad roof.

Model of Water Farm

A clever layout to enhance family life

The client wanted spaces to be connected and feel open whilst remaining separate from one another, and to enhance views of the beautiful surrounding landscape. Our solution is a stepped ground floor arranged around a modest central courtyard. The courtyard provides ventilation while bringing a sense of the natural world into the home. This in-between space also creates a layering of views through the house and to the landscape beyond. Each space on the ground floor also has a stepped threshold, giving hierarchy to the living spaces and also responding to the sloping site topography.

Where the ground floor is expressed through the changes in the ground plane, the first floor is defined by the striking geometry of the roof form giving each room a unique spacial character. The gable ends offer the two main bedrooms expansive views across the natural surrounds.

Model making images showing layout of Water Farm around central courtyard

What is Paragraph 84?

Water Farm was built under Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Known as ‘The Country House Clause’, Paragraph 84 relates to the building of new homes in the open countryside, typically on isolated sites.

Explore our Paragraph 84 homes.

Drawing of atrium at Water Farm with interior courtyard

Our Work

Cover Image for Thatch House

Thatch House

Cover Image for Breach House

Breach House

Cover Image for Grain House

Grain House