The rolling green fields of rural beauty spots have long served as a fertile testbed for radical architectural ideas. And the tradition shows no sign of slowing down: architects across the world are using country houses as a way to experiment with unusual styles and innovative building techniques, from the lush, grassy lands of central France to the edges of wild, Scottish lochs. Traditionally, these properties would just be used as getaways for fortunate families to spend their holidays, but today – with people increasingly choosing to leave the cities and work remotely from rural settings – countryside residences are becoming the main attraction, with designs of all shapes and sizes appearing all over the globe. We explored the best...
Ashraya, Hertfordshire by Kirkland Fraser Moor
It’s hard to separate architecture from landscape in this design by architects Kirkland Fraser Moor. Called Ashraya, the four-bedroom Hertfordshire home slots precisely into a circular opening carved out of the ground, creating the feel of a walled garden. Meanwhile, the roof is a gently sloping arch planted with the same grasses and wildflowers that feature in the surrounding meadow.
The effect is created through the clever combination of rectilinear and circular shapes. The three-storey house actually has a rectangular floor plan, so its glass-walled living spaces open out to a pair of half-moon-shaped courtyards. The drama continues inside, where the timber joists of the arching roof meet an exposed concrete structure to striking effect. Glazed openings in the ground floor allow light to filter down to a snooker room and art studio in the basement. k-f-m.com
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Flax Mill, Perthshire by TAP
A cantilever plays an important role in the design of Flax Mill, a house on the edge of Loch Tummel in Perthshire, designed by Edinburgh-based studio TAP. The base of the building had to be kept small, to fit within the remaining stone walls of an old mill that stood on the site previously, but the first floor is able to extend out towards an adjacent river. The result
is a property that appears to hover dramatically above the forest floor.
To take full advantage of the elevated view, the home has an upside-down layout that places the main bedroom downstairs, while living spaces are located above, along with a study that can double as a spare bedroom. The huge steel beams required for this balancing act are visible on the façade, offering a playful contrast with the old stonework and the larch boards that clad the new exterior walls. taparchitects.co.uk
French bungalow, Saint-Julien by Ciguë
Architects Ciguë intended to touch the landscape as lightly as possible with House in Saint-Julien le Petit (opposite), a small country home in the Haute-Vienne region of France. Resisting the downward slope of its site, the two-bedroom property is built over a single level that only meets the ground along one edge. Open-plan living spaces culminate in an elevated terrace that spans the façade, which is finished in a combination of spruce sourced from local woodland and black-stained larch.
Central to the design concept are special foundations called helical anchors, which wind into the ground just like a screw into a piece of wood. This means that, were the building ever to be taken down, it would leave little trace. These elements imbue the property with a lightweight nature that has its roots in the demountable houses pioneered by French modernist architect Jean Prouvé in the 1940s. cigue.net
Old water tower, Norfolk by Tonkin Liu
An old water tower in Norfolk provided the starting point for this extraordinary home designed by London-based architects Tonkin Liu. The concept was simple: convert the rusty steel tank into a generous living space, then insert three new rooms into the vertical framework below, providing a reception room on the ground floor and two en-suite bedrooms on the first and second storeys.
There was never any doubt that the house would offer incredible views of the surrounding fields and meadows, particularly from the newly created terrace on the tower’s roof. But a more surprising vista can be found in the refurbished tank (below). Wrapping the room on three sides, a sliced opening in the steel-panelled walls is perfectly aligned to frame a panoramic view of the horizon. tonkinliu.co.uk
Chestnut House, Portugal by João Mendes Ribeiro
A chestnut tree is at the centre of this rural retreat near the Serra da Marofa mountains in Portugal, aptly named Chestnut House. Architect João Mendes Ribeiro deliberately chose this site to benefit from the shade provided by the tree’s branches; otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible to create such large windows without fear of overheating. The added benefit is that the property takes on the character of a treehouse.
To ensure the tree can still thrive, it was essential not to disturb its roots, so minimal foundations were used. The house sits just above ground level on the north-west side of the tree, while a stepped patio deck is installed on the south-east side. Wood was the natural material choice. A black-painted thermowood clads the exterior, creating a contrast with the light-toned birch plywood that lines the interior walls and ceiling. joaomendesribeiro.com
Narula House, Berkshire by John Pardey
The land beside the River Loddon in Wargrave, Berkshire, is classified as ‘Flood Zone 3b’, which means it’s likely to be under water several times a year. This may not sound like a sensible location for a home, but the design of Narula House by John Pardey Architects will silence doubters. Raised 2.2 metres above the ground on stilts, this elegant single-storey property is positioned well above the predicted flood level for the next 100 years.
The building’s interior is designed to be equally future-proof, adapting to the needs of its owners as they approach retirement, and providing plenty of room for their family to stay. A linear layout creates a sequence of spacious living spaces, all with views of the river, including a large living and dining room, three en-suite bedrooms, a study and a snug. There’s also a separate ‘granny flat’ for guests. johnpardeyarchitects.com
Villa Aa, Norway by CF Møller
‘The Invisible Villa’ is how Scandinavian firm CF Møller Architects describes the submerged Villa Aa in Vestfold, Norway. Set beneath a green roof, this modern three-bedroom home is only visible from the south, where sliding glass doors connect the open-plan living spaces with a patio, pond and swimming pool. From other angles, it simply looks like an extension of the grassy terrain.
The design was developed in response to the building’s location on a historic stretch of coastline that has been populated since the age of the Vikings. The aim was to prevent impacting on views and to maintain the biodiversity of the landscape, but it also results in a series of unique living spaces. While not all rooms have windows, plenty of daylight filters into the property thanks to 12 skylights, plus a lightwell in the form of a stepped, planted courtyard. cfmoller.com
Weekend House, Belgium by Bovenbouw
A common solution when building a house on a slope is to create a split-level floor plan that divides the building into two zones. Architects Bovenbouw decided to go one step further when designing Weekend House in Bazel, Belgium, a holiday home on the outskirts of Antwerp, in the hope of creating a more natural relationship with the topography.
Here, there are six incremental levels, so you feel like you’re walking up a hill as you move through the interior. This unusual arrangement creates a quirky layout full of curved and angled walls. At the top of the ‘hill’ is a combined kitchen, dining and living room, while the interim levels house three bedrooms, including one that also functions as a workspace. These rooms all face a courtyard, where red-painted blockwork walls contrast with the black façade and the calming neutral shades of the interior. bovenbouw.be
Bumpers Oast, Kent by Acme
Made up of five steeply pointed towers, this whimsical building, clad in more than 41,000 ceramic tiles, takes its cues from the oast houses that can be found all over rural Kent. While these roundels originally functioned as kilns, allowing hops to be hung up and dried, here they create dramatic living spaces, including a dining room with a triple-height ceiling.
It may be inspired by the traditional, but this is very much a contemporary update. ‘The general problem with oast houses is that they don’t have windows, so living in them is a pretty insular experience,’ explains Acme director Friedrich Ludewig. ‘We thought the best way to deal with this was to create a misunderstanding of 18th-century architecture.’ acme.ac
Kent Downs house, Kent by MaLean Quinlan
English craftsmanship combines with the style of southeast Asia in this family house overlooking the South Downs. The clients had lived abroad for many years and they wanted a residence that would reference the various places they considered home. ‘The house was always designed as a fusion,’ explains architect Kate Quinlan. The result is a blend of simple local materials – ragstone, oak and zinc – and unexpected details. ‘It was the woodland location that really informed the design, details and material choices,’ she explains. The building’s two wings are topped by gently sloping roofs, with exposed eaves and a chimney that creates a focal point. Modest and elegant, it’s an incredibly calm collision of styles. mcleanquinlan.com
Stonecrop, Rutland by Featherstone Young
Part building, part extension of the view, this country home consists of two wings, slotted beneath a pair of faceted green roofs that appear to spiral up out of the ground. As they curve, they wrap around an oval courtyard, creating a complex interplay of overlapping geometries. ‘The roof design evolved from the sloping landscape,’ says architect Sarah Featherstone. ‘It’s as if the ground has been tilted up so that the house can slip in underneath.’
Sitting on the edge of a small village, Stonecrop’s design is split between two aesthetic approaches – one side is clad in textured and polished limestone to mimic the look of neighbouring homes, while the other is a work of white, hard-edged modernism. featherstoneyoung.com
Kintyre, Hertfordshire by Tate Harmer
There is more to this wooden country house than meets the eye. Integrated into its structure are a range of cutting-edge gadgets, such as smart lighting, photovoltaic panels and an air source heat pump, which help the building to use very little energy. ‘Our concept was to create a modern take on a traditional English cottage as a Passivhaus,’ says architect Rory Harmer.
Larch boards neatly cover the exterior and custom-made furniture adds bespoke detail to the interiors. ‘The evolution of technology and materials allows us to respond to the climate in different ways,’ says Rory. ‘However, we must not lose sight of context. The most successful country homes connect with the surrounding nature and live symbiotically with the ecosystem.’ tateharmer.com
Black Barn, Suffolk by Studio Bark
The archetypal agricultural shed has been given an interesting rethink in this five-bedroom family home. Thanks to a cleverly crafted structure of Douglas fir scissor trusses, its pitched roof is twisted and distorted, forming this grand glass gable that projects out over the landscape.
‘The form was derived from our desire to respond better to the path of the sun,’ says architect Wilf Meynell, explaining that the shape allows the interior to benefit from shade in the summer, but to optimise heat from the sun in the colder winter months. Outside, the walls are treated using shou sugi ban, a Japanese technique involving charring the wood in fire, which protects them from the elements. The result is a home with surprising warmth and tactility. studiobark.co.uk
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