House in a Clearing
Within a woodland clearing, a low-lying family home reinterprets agricultural forms as a sequence of finely crafted, corrugated volumes.
Type Residential
Client Private
Location East Sussex
Size 1.6 hectares / 332 sqm
Budget Undisclosed
Status Built
Site Plan
Set within a woodland clearing in East Sussex, this single-storey dwelling replaces an earlier consented scheme with a quieter, more site-responsive architecture.
Rather than occupying the plot assertively, the house is pushed back into the landscape — arranged as a sequence of pitched forms that frame courtyards and retain a cluster of mature trees.
Ground Floor Plan
The plan is organised as two primary wings — communal and private — connected by glazed links that allow movement to unfold around a series of informal outdoor rooms. These courtyards mediate between inside and out, offering shelter and enclosure while maintaining visual continuity with woodland and wildflower meadow.
The darker volume contains the principal living spaces. Here, generous full-height interiors open toward the wider landscape, allowing light and seasonal change to define daily life. In contrast, the lighter wing sits lower to the ground, housing bedrooms that look inward to planted courts and outward through framed glimpses of trees.
Short section through principal living spaces
Materially, the house reinterprets local agricultural typologies. Corrugated metal cladding and simple pitched roofs establish a familiar rural silhouette, while brick gable ends provide weight and permanence. Internally, white-rendered walls and warm timber detailing create a restrained backdrop that prioritises light, proportion and landscape.
‘Pushed back into the landscape and formed around existing trees, the house dissolves into meadow and woodland — a collection of pitched volumes that frame courtyards, light and the changing seasons..’
THA Project Team
Christopher Taylor, Karl Bowers,
Geoff Pomeroy, Charlie Whittington
Photography
Building Narratives
Landscape Architect
Farlam & Chandler
Contractor
Self Build
Structural Engineer
Considine
M&E Services Consultant
Elmhurst Energy
Building Control
Harwood Building Control
Building Surveyor
OmegaGeo
