Back in black

Helen Seymour-Smith of Seymour-Smith Architects helped to design Blackwood, a stand-out structure in Wiltshire. Here, she discusses the motivations behind the self-build

Klaus and Mary [the homeowners] were very clear that they wanted a low-energy house that was also an exciting piece of contemporary architecture. In their brief, they shared what they wanted to achieve with the house and how they wanted to live in it, rather than how it should look, or a particular architectural style. The site presented a unique opportunity. The local council had owned a bungalow on the site, which had been used as a tearoom, but then suffered an arson attack and was left derelict. The new house was positioned to the northern side of the site and a plan developed into an L-shaped layout to enable the maximum orientation to the south and the main view, while also offering a long distance view to the west. Cross laminated…

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Homebuilding & Renovating (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2022

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