Oliver Leech Architects uses "calm and neutral" materials for Chalk River House in Hampshire

London studio Oliver Leech Architects used a "soft, calm and neutral palette" of handmade bricks, lime render, timber and zinc for this family home overlooking a river in Hampshire.

Located near the village of Houghton, the 515-square-metre home was named Chalk River House after its position overlooking the River Test, a rare type of river known as a chalk stream.

Oliver Leech Architects' design was informed by the dual nature of the site, which faces a conservation area at the front but is lent a more secluded feel at the rear by both the river and the numerous mature trees that surround it.

Responding to these different conditions, Chalk River House combines a more traditional, lime-rendered wing at the front with a contemporary, glazed wing at the rear, with the whole united by a palette of natural materials informed by the local architecture.

"Our approach was to open out the house to views of the river as much as possible while retaining a sense of refuge within the house," Oliver Leech Architects told Dezeen.

"The front of the house has a more formal, restrained language that sits more comfortably among its neighbours."

"All the materials were chosen to age gracefully – timber and zinc will eventually patinate to a silvery grey, creating a soft, calm and neutral overall palette," it added.

The home's two volumes sit slightly apart, connected by a central stairwell that overlooks two courtyards – one ornamental and the other a kitchen garden – through large windows.

Entered via a recessed, brick-lined porch, the front volume contains reception areas, guest bedrooms and bathrooms, which overlook the home's driveway through smaller windows with internal shutters.

At the rear of the home, a larger two-storey volume extends into a glazed, single-storey pavilion overlooking the garden, topped by a long, flat roof that shelters a series of external terraces.

On the first floor of this rear volume, the main bedroom sits beneath the pitched roof, the apex of which has been gently curved internally and lined with pale plaster.

"While the living spaces sit forward with large glazed openings onto the garden, the kitchen and dining room are sunken back to create a terrace, covered in an oak pergola structure, which offers al fresco dining throughout the year," the studio told Dezeen.

Accompanying the lime render of the front volume are walls and a chimney of pale, handmade Roman bricks, while the rear volume features diagonally laid planks of pre-weathered Siberian larch.

Diamond-shaped panels of zinc were used to clad the gabled roofs of the home's two volumes, which, like the larch and timber will gradually patinate over time.

"The materials were chosen to reference locally-used materials throughout Hampshire, albeit with a more contemporary twist," explained the studio.

Oliver Leech Architects was founded in 2016. Previous projects by the studio include a skylit extension to a London home and an accessible annexe to a home in Surrey that is clad in blackened timber.

The photography is by Jim Stephenson.

Project credits:

Architect: Oliver Leech Architects
Builder: Bluefish Construction
Engineer: Momentum Structural Engineers
ESD: Mesh Energy
Landscaping: B Brooks
QS: Brindley Partnership, Andrew Bird Associates
Planning consultant: Atlas Planning
FF&E: The Haven Interiors

The post Oliver Leech Architects uses "calm and neutral" materials for Chalk River House in Hampshire appeared first on Dezeen.