The brief was clear: build something worthy of 53 acres of prime countryside.
The existing house wasn't it. Generic, poorly sited, and completely missing the potential of its extraordinary setting. Our clients knew they could do better.
Their requirements were comprehensive: a contemporary family home with basement leisure facilities, a detached summerhouse for entertaining, and enough renewable energy to run the whole operation independently.
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You don't design a house for 53 acres—you design it with 53 acres. This wasn't just about creating the biggest house possible; it's about designing the right house for such a vast and extraordinary site.
The basement level houses the saltwater pool, yoga studio, gym, plant, and an 8-car integrated garage accessed through 20-metre wide steel-clad concertina doors that wouldn't look out of place at an airport hangar. With ceiling heights over 3.5 metres throughout, this feels less like a basement and more like your very own private spa. A four-floor lift ensures effortless circulation through this substantial home, while the plant room houses an impressive array of 20+ batteries that store all that renewable energy.
Above ground, clean lines, impossibly slim Skyframe glazing, and a carefully balanced mix of stone, weathering Corten steel, and composite timber create a building that's undeniably contemporary yet rooted in its rural context.
When you're building at this scale, every detail matters exponentially. The Skyframe windows and doors feature the thinnest frames available anywhere—think jewellery-grade precision but at architectural scale.
Locally sourced Derbyshire stone provides weight and connection, while the Corten steel cladding will develop its characteristic patina over time—aging gracefully rather than simply deteriorating. That triple-glazing isn't just about energy performance—it's about creating spaces so quiet and comfortable you forget there's even glass there.
Our clients didn't just want a beautiful house—they wanted a responsible one. This place is designed to generate more energy than it uses, with a 40kW+ solar array feeding into a plant room housing over 20 batteries for serious energy storage capacity.
Ground source heat pumps, air heat recovery, a standalone wind turbine, and an intensive sedum roof system with rainwater attenuation complete the package. The walled garden and summerhouse herb garden provide year-round food production.
This isn't just about one building, no matter how spectacular. Tucked discretely into the private woodland sits a substantial garage and workshop, housing all the agricultural equipment needed to maintain 53 acres without disturbing the main house's serenity.
The detached summerhouse takes outdoor entertaining to another level entirely—complete with chef-grade kitchen, integrated pizza oven, and its own enclosed herb garden. Because sometimes you want to cook without walking back to the main house.
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