This Oxfordshire house is the latest completion by the Cotswolds-based architecture studio of Richard Parr – designed bespoke for a return client, whose primary home in north London Parr and his team sensitively redesigned recently. The newest commission draws on its leafy setting, balancing the contemporary needs of the family and the location's connection with nature, within a modern, architectural whole.
Step inside this Oxfordshire house by Richard Parr Associates
Making the most of the project's rural site, the studio reworked the idea of a country residence (which took the place of an older, smaller and tired structure on site) to ‘frame and create far-reaching views into the distant landscape, taking in the Chiltern Hills, undulating countryside and otherwise unnoticed features.’
The complex is composed of four, distinct but interconnected volumes. They are low and relatively modest, inspired by local farmhouse structures in the area. The main materials used, brick, concrete, corrugated roofing, Corten steel and charred timber, also reflect this.
The entire building is placed on a plinth, to both help level the sloped terrain, and also, in combination with smart planting and openings, direct the gaze towards strategic vistas. This, alongside the volume composition, created a variety of indoor-outdoor situations, including paved courtyards, sheltered terraces, and smaller gardens that underline the important connection with nature.
Inside, polished concrete floors, copper, lime plaster, stained ash joinery and wood wool ceilings craft a sleek, elegant interior with a unified approach. The largest of the four sections is the family wing, which contains the living space, dining and kitchen area, where the clients spend most of their time.
The project's landscaping was equally key to its overall feel. The architects explained in their statement: 'A micro-environment has been created around the house. Certain elements have been re-wilded to enrich the biodiversity of the site complete with soft landscaping including banks to accommodate the requirements of their child with complex needs.'
A natural, wild swimming pool that is filtered by reeds works towards this goal too – while offering more reason for the family to spend time in the outdoors, in the tailor-made contemporary retreat that is this Oxfordshire house.
-
Orlando Museum of Art wants to showcase more Latin American and Hispanic artists. Do you fit the bill?The Florida gallery calls for for Hispanic and Latin American artists to submit their work for an ongoing exhibition
-
This spa in the Riviera Maya stays open until midnight. Here’s what happens after darkRosewood Mayakoba’s Akbal Series proposes a new kind of night out
-
Two new villas extend Christian Louboutin’s exuberant Portuguese hotelA pink, kasbah-inspired residence and a whitewashed boathouse join the French shoe designer’s Vermelho Hotel in Melides, Alentejo
-
Boutique London rental development celebrates European courtyard livingLondon design and development studio Wendover unveils its newest residential project, 20 Newcourt Street, comprising nine apartments; we toured with co-founder Gabriel Chipperfield
-
A refreshed Fulham house balances its history with a series of 21st-century interventionsA Fulham house project by Bureau de Change creates a 21st-century domestic haven through a series of contemporary interventions and a deep connection to the property's historical fabric
-
The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
Visiting an experimental UK home: welcome to HousesteadThis experimental UK home, Housestead by Sanei + Hopkins, brings together architectural explorations and daily life in these architects’ own home
-
A house in Leamington Spa is a domestic oasis infused with contemporary sensibilitiesThis house in Leamington Spa, by John Pardey Architects, brings together flood risk considerations, a conservation area's historic character, and contemporary sensibilities
-
A garden explaining carbon capture in nature? Head to Kew in LondonKew unveils 'Carbon Garden', a new offering at London's Royal Botanic Gardens that's all about carbon capture within nature; and how plants and soil can be leveraged to help us battle climate change
-
An old war barracks is transformed into a charming Dorset Beach HouseNestled in its coastal setting, a redesigned barracks home in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty becomes a contemporary Dorset beach house by Architecture for London
-
Studio Bark has transformed a Victorian villa into an eco-friendly family homeA Victorian villa in the South of England has been overhauled with new low-energy systems and a self-build addition to create a home fit for the future
