Vann Water, Ockley, Surrey.

The replacement of a rundown edwardian villa with a modern three storey contemporary family residence.

The site overlooks vann water lake, set within a wood and is located within an area of outstanding natural beauty.

completed 2011.

The site is heavily wooded at its entrance with a gradual fall down to the lake.

The existing house is located centrally on the site, with no connection to its surroundings + very little landscaping.

The house is subsiding and requires replacement/rebuilding.

The owner runs a business from home+offices in south london which also needed to be accommodated on the site.

The attic was a home to bats which needed to be rehoused, they have been given a new home in the new offices/showroom within the surrounding woodland.

A scheme was drawn up by a local draftsman which obtained planning approval for a modern two storey dwelling. The client came to us, dissatisfied with the design.

We remodelled and developed the scheme into a three storey home with six bedrooms, library, playroom, games room, cinema,

gym+wetroom suite.

At the centre of the design is a grande chimney with fireplaces on each floor, the rooms and circulation revolve around it: the focus of the home.

There are terraces/balconies from all the bedrooms, with bathrooms set floating ‘within the forest’.

The house is entered via a bridge over an ornamental pond.

The centre pivoted front door leads you into a grand hallway with a galleried library to the first floor.

The hallway links all the various elements of the house which is full of surprises.

The rational exterior does little to reveal the variety of spaces and rooms within.

“Couldn’t be happier; completed on budget – and a day early. The whole experience was amazing.

The house felt like our home from the day we moved in, and we still can’t believe it’s ours.”

:client

plans: