50 DIGS.NET | 12.11.2020
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esignated an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty
in the UK, the Cotswolds
is a painterly landscape of ancient
woodlands, limestone valleys and
graceful undulations of green. Here, in
a secret valley, is a holdover of an earlier
time: a derelict 18th century gamekeeper's
cottage. Sheathed in stone and rich in
character, this period set piece is at the
heart of a sensitive intervention based on
Modernist doctrine by architect Richard
Found of the London-based practice
Found Associates. The building speaks to
the vernacular stone construction of the
Cotswolds that, along with the age-old
terrain, inspired new architecture that
forms a contemporary family home for
Found himself.
While irrefutably picturesque,
the site—a 16.5-acre plot that Found
discovered while perusing the
local paper—was not without its
complications, including the ramshackle
state of its existing cottage and other
neglected outbuildings. Still, it was a
lovely piece of land and he was taken
with its attributes: seclusion, closeness to
nature and proximity to water. He took
Ralph Waldo Emerson's words—"Build
therefore your own world"—as his own
and embarked on remaking the place.
Found's original vision to build a
brand-new modern structure in place of
the existing cottage meant demolishing
the latter. Upon learning that the
property was spot-listed by Historic
England, however, he was forced to
navigate a gauntlet of limitations put
forth by the local planning commission;
most critical of these strictures was
keeping the existing cottage the core
of the plot. Found scraped the initial
plan and conceived of a radical new
work, one he carved into the landscape.
This rectangular extension is a robust
representation of his architectural
principles and gifts. "The extension was
meant to be subservient to the original
cottage," explains Found, noting that on
the ground one only ever sees half the
extension with the existing building. The
challenge, he points out, was to design an
expansion while being respectful of the
original structure, which, thanks to two
grass rooves that help merge the extension
with the landscape behind, and a glass
link between the cottage and extension
that separates period from contemporary,
is still the most dominant feature on the
site. It is a best-of-both-worlds design—a
harmonious mix of classic and modern
achieved by contrasting old and new
building techniques and materials.
PHOTOGRAPHS:
COURTESY
OF
HUFTON
&
CROW
AND
ANDREW
MEREDITH
