Surrey home offers minimalist take on Arts & Crafts aesthetic
This Surrey home designed by Alexander Martin Architects bridges modern minimalism and the historical architecture of its Arts & Crafts built environment
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

A new-build Surrey home, in Claygate, takes its cues from its surrounding Arts & Crafts built environment, in the latest project by Alexander Martin Architects. The house design replaces a smaller, 1920s structure sitting in a generous site, and offers an abstracted reinterpretation of the Arts & Crafts aesthetic. The result is a warm, contemporary home that bridges a historical approach and minimalist architecture styles of the 21st century.
Doing something different was a condition right from the start in this commission – as was a commitment to create a functional home fit for daily family life. ‘Our client was clear from the outset that they didn’t want a run-of-the-mill house and that they were prepared to do something bold in the suburbs,’ says the London architecture studio’s founder, Alexander Martin. ‘However, the design and materials have all been carefully orchestrated to create a series of spaces that best serve the needs of the family while still maintaining an elegant appearance.'
The materials chosen for the architectural composition fit the clean, pared-down aesthetic the design team was aiming for. But they are also simple, robust materials that feel hard-wearing and not too precious. Concrete floors, a blackened steel staircase, and black veneered joinery make for a minimalist, monochrome palette.
Meanwhile, the use of quick-to-install, prefabricated and practical, structurally insulated CLT panels ensured minimum time was spend on construction on site. This resulted in minimum waste and disruption for neighbours during the building works. An air-source heat pump helps with sustainable heating.
In a relatively typical layout arrangement, the ground level contains an array of generous living spaces, while bedrooms and bathrooms are located upstairs. Everything is wrapped in a pale buff brick shell arranged in two pitched volumes joined by a smaller, flat roof section. While the outline nods to the surrounding houses’ shapes, the colour and detailing clearly mark the property out as a 21st century construction – one that is at home in its residential setting, while also thriving in its confident, contemporary attitude.
INFORMATION
amarchitects.co.uk (opens in new tab)
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).
-
‘Brutalist Paris’ is a book that lays bare the legacy of the city’s concrete architecture
Architectural cartographer Blue Crow Media launches ‘Brutalist Paris’, its first book, a photographic study of the French capital’s surviving brutalist treasures and concrete impasses
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Creatures great and small: Matthew Campbell Laurenza’s exquisite naturalistic jewellery designs
Matthew Campbell Laurenza’s insects in precious materials encompass magical forms
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Dia Mrad captures the tangible repercussions of Lebanon’s economic crisis
In ‘Utilities’, on view at Dubai's Zawyeh Gallery, Lebanese photographer Dia Mrad documents his home country’s multi-layered economic crisis through Beirut's urban fabric
By Martha Elliott • Published
-
Minimalist architecture: homes that inspire calm
These examples of minimalist architecture place life in the foreground – clutter is demoted; joy promoted
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Hampshire home for a sailor makes for a sustainable domestic haven
Sailor's House by OB Architecture is a Hampshire home that combines minimalism and sustainability
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Mapping modern Cambridge architecture
A modern Cambridge architecture map offers immersive tours through the British city’s 20th century gems
By Martha Elliott • Published
-
Home and art gallery Maison Colbert is a London transformation story
Maison Colbert by Chris Dyson Architects reimagines a row of London houses into a single home and artist's gallery in the East End
By Marwa El Mubark • Published
-
The dMFK office in Fitzrovia hails a postpandemic approach to workspace
The new office of architects dMFK in Fitzrovia, designed by the studio alongside architects Sher + White, exemplifies the reimagining of workspaces for a postpandemic London
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Two Hands nursery by vPPR is where design flair meets sustainability
Two Hands nursery in London, designed by vPPR, mixes colourful interiors and sustainable architecture elements with wellbeing in mind
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Is ProxyAddress architecture’s answer to solving homelessness?
ProxyAddress founder Chris Hildrey talks to us about architecture changing the world, and his pioneering initiative to help solve homelessness
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Sustainable Farnham house unites contemporary architecture and nature
A sustainable Farnham house in the Surrey countryside combines a secluded, sloping site with modern materials
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji • Published