Midcentury home exterior with simple, but neatly landscaped garden with a grassy lawn and hedges.

Brick Extension with black zinc sloped roof

FPArchitects have restored and refurbished a four-storey grade II listed Georgian mid terrace in London's Limehouse, turning the gloomy and dilapidated house into a bright and minimalist family home. Located within the Lowell Street Conservation Area and on one of London's busiest roads, the early 19th century building was the subject of insensitive extensive works in the mid 1990s when much of the original fabric and features were lost. FPArchitects' ambition was to re-establish the decorative hierarchy of the interiors by stripping out unsympathetic features and insert paired down decorative elements that complement the original rusticated stucco, round-headed windows and the entrance with fluted columns. Ancillary spaces are inserted within the original cellular layout with minimal disruption to the fabric of the building. A side extension at the back, also added in the mid 1990s, is transformed into a small pavilion-like Dining Room with minimal sliding doors and apertures for overhead natural light. Subtle shades of colours and materials with fine textures are preferred and are juxtaposed to dark floors in veiled reference to the Regency and Georgian aesthetics.

The front of the home is beautiful and welcoming in its own right. The windows were renovated to a high standard, with glass panes replaced throughout. The paint was stripped back and refreshed in a bright white, and the front door replaced in a gorgeous navy blue, adding character while working nicely with the traditional features of the property. The roof was replaced as part of the works, giving it new life for years to come. Renovation by Absolute Project Management

Hidden within a clearing in a Grade II listed arboretum in Hampshire, this highly efficient new-build family home was designed to fully embrace its wooded location. Surrounded by woods, the site provided both the potential for a unique perspective and also a challenge, due to the trees limiting the amount of natural daylight. To overcome this, we placed the guest bedrooms and ancillary spaces on the ground floor and elevated the primary living areas to the lighter first and second floors. The entrance to the house is via a courtyard to the north of the property. Stepping inside, into an airy entrance hall, an open oak staircase rises up through the house. Immediately beyond the full height glazing across the hallway, a newly planted acer stands where the two wings of the house part, drawing the gaze through to the gardens beyond. Throughout the home, a calming muted colour palette, crafted oak joinery and the gentle play of dappled light through the trees, creates a tranquil and inviting atmosphere. Upstairs, the landing connects to a formal living room on one side and a spacious kitchen, dining and living area on the other. Expansive glazing opens on to wide outdoor terraces that span the width of the building, flooding the space with daylight and offering a multi-sensory experience of the woodland canopy. Porcelain tiles both inside and outside create a seamless continuity between the two. At the top of the house, a timber pavilion subtly encloses the principal suite and study spaces. The mood here is quieter, with rooflights bathing the space in light and large picture windows provide breathtaking views over the treetops. The living area on the first floor and the master suite on the upper floor function as a single entity, to ensure the house feels inviting, even when the guest bedrooms are unoccupied. Outside, and opposite the main entrance, the house is complemented by a single storey garage and yoga studio, creating a formal entrance courtyard to the property. Timber decking and raised beds sit to the north of the studio and garage. The buildings are predominantly constructed from timber, with offsite fabrication and precise on-site assembly. Highly insulated, the choice of materials prioritises the reduction of VOCs, with wood shaving insulation and an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) to minimise both operational and embodied carbon emissions.

Accès piétons

The Hide is a stunning, two-storey residential dwelling sitting above a Nature Reserve in the coastal resort of Bude. Replacing an existing house of no architectural merit, the new design evolved a central core with two wings responding to site context by angling the wing elements outwards away from the core, allowing the occupiers to experience and take in the panoramic views. The large-glazed areas of the southern façade and slot windows horizontally and vertically aligned capture views all-round the dwelling. Low-angled, mono-pitched, zinc standing seam roofs were used to contain the impact of the new building on its sensitive setting, with the roofs extending and overhanging some three feet beyond the dwelling walls, sheltering and covering the new building. The roofs were designed to mimic the undulating contours of the site when viewed from surrounding vantage points, concealing and absorbing this modern form into the landscape. The Hide Was the winner of the South West Region LABC Building Excellence Award 2020 for ‘Best Individual New Home’. Photograph: Rob Colwill

Roof fall has been designed to integrate solar panels.

This birds eye view of the house demonstrates the stepped levels and how the design follows the contours of the slope. Each of the three blocks are connected by glazed link spaces. This design has a simple logic to arrange a large house on a sloping site, without the costs of excavating large quantities of material to cut into the slope.

An eco-renovation of a 250 year old cottage in an area of outstanding beauty

Our design created a new, contemporary, first floor accommodation across the entire bungalow footprint with a new holistic design. The entire property has been re-clad with modernist white render, providing a seamless transition between old and new. A striking zinc-clad scissor roof design was developed in order to maximise the views across the roofs cape further afield from the garden.

Two distinct additions to the front of the house accommodate the new dining and bedroom spaces while their volumes are connected via an overhead pergola to create an external ‘sunroom’ deck from which the owners may enjoy the bushy front garden and engage with the neighbours.

Triple Panel Sliding Doors

ARchi Photographer

Jack Lovel Photographer

The Hide is a stunning, two-storey residential dwelling sitting above a Nature Reserve in the coastal resort of Bude. Replacing an existing house of no architectural merit, the new design evolved a central core with two wings responding to site context by angling the wing elements outwards away from the core, allowing the occupiers to experience and take in the panoramic views. The large-glazed areas of the southern façade and slot windows horizontally and vertically aligned capture views all-round the dwelling. Low-angled, mono-pitched, zinc standing seam roofs were used to contain the impact of the new building on its sensitive setting, with the roofs extending and overhanging some three feet beyond the dwelling walls, sheltering and covering the new building. The roofs were designed to mimic the undulating contours of the site when viewed from surrounding vantage points, concealing and absorbing this modern form into the landscape. The Hide Was the winner of the South West Region LABC Building Excellence Award 2020 for ‘Best Individual New Home’. Photograph: Rob Colwill