Our clients, who had lived internationally for the entirety of their professional lives, owned a Cotswold Bolthole – once beloved of Henry Ford – which they retired to. So, when the house next door came up for sale, they bought it; even though they didn’t know what to do with it. Rixon Architects were on hand to help them realise their project’s potential.
Our clients had a 1-acre plot, some 1950s extensions and two tiny neighbouring cottages, which were both situated on the side of a hill. Their brief was to create a contemporary living space with big rooms and lots of space, while somehow retaining the Cotswold Character and small cottage aesthetic they’d originally fallen in love with.
The project was 3 years in planning and was eventually won at Planning Appeal. We think it was worth the wait. From the outside the property oozes with Cotswold old-world charm. Yet inside, there’s an awful lot of cool stuff under the hood. We think Henry Ford would have approved!
It’s air conditioned but not so you can see. It has a ground source heat pump. And it contains 4 vertical 110-metre deep bore holes which go straight into the earth to harness its heat, which is then redistributed to the heating system and hot water pipes.
This project was a true labour of love with a particular focus on how a home can coexist with the land it sits on. This was typified by the owners going out of their way to support local craftspeople – to the extent they even used a tree that had fallen naturally in their nearby field to create their feature sliding door.