Farmsteads inform corrugated metal-clad home in Sussex
Agricultural barns and sheds informed the corrugated metal-clad volumes of House in a Clearing, a house in East Sussex completed by UK studio TaylorHare Architects.
When the clients purchased the site nestled in a woodland clearing near Uckfield, it was occupied by a small structure but already had planning permission for a much larger, two-storey dwelling.
The new owners, however, sought a quieter design that would feel more connected to the landscape, leading to TaylorHare Architects creating a cluster of three single-storey barns organised around a central courtyard informed by traditional farmsteads.
"Every design decision was measured against a simple question: did it strengthen the relationship between house and landscape?" director and project principal Christopher Taylor told Dezeen.
"Drawing on the character of rural agricultural steadings, the composition creates a home that feels both grounded and quietly expressive," he continued.
At the centre of House in a Clearing, a slightly larger building clad in black metal contains the main social spaces, which overlook both the paved courtyard and surrounding landscape through large windows.
A snug leads through into the bedroom wing, where a row of more intimate spaces sit off a long corridor and have also been given minimal, white finishes to emphasise external views through large openings framed in black metal.
To the south, a glazed link connects the living areas to an ancillary building, which contains a garage, home gym and guest room and is finished with a gable end of brickwork that the studio said "anchors the building in the landscape".
All of the volumes are united by their finish of corrugated metal, which covers both their walls and roofs. According to the studio, this was chosen for its ability to make the home feel "both contemporary and deeply rooted in its setting".
The internal finishes of the home were kept purposefully minimal, with white walls and high gable ceilings complemented by pale oak timber in the bedrooms and stone paving in the kitchen and bathroom.
"White-rendered walls and natural timber create calm, light-filled spaces where the changing landscape, rather than the architecture itself, becomes the primary focus," Taylor told Dezeen.
"Ultimately, the materials were never intended to make a statement in their own right. Instead, they work together to create a building that feels enduring, familiar and quietly connected to its place."
Other recent homes in the UK that have taken cues from agricultural buildings include the transformation of a former tractor shed in Dorset into a low-carbon home by architecture practice Bindloss Dawes.
The photography is by Nick Dearden.
The post Farmsteads inform corrugated metal-clad home in Sussex appeared first on Dezeen.
