British architectural firm PAD studio has created the New Forest House.Completed in 2009, this 1,291 square foot contemporary home is situated in the New Forest National Park, England, UK. Environmentally friendly technologies and sustainable materials were implemented in order to reduce the impact on the surroundings. The new building has been carefully conceived in order that the proposals minimise the impact on the site and its sensitive surroundings.The main house and guest annexe are orientated to maximise solar gain and utilise renewable technologies for heating and hot water requirements. The materials used throughout are sustainable, durable and locally sourced where possible – in harmony with the site and its surroundings.
The architectural objective has been to create a simple building whose form, scale materials and detail reinforce the character, distinctiveness and history of the site locally and within the wider context of the New Forest.The architectural concept was straightforward: Two simple volumetric forms located along a spine wall. Upon arrival the wall screens distant views to the South focusing attention upon the ancient beech trees to the North. Stepping through a gap in the wall the experience changes as the site gradually unfolds and the landscape beyond is revealed.
On a practical level the wall acts as a retainer for the earth that was excavated to form the natural swimming pond and basement, and as thermal mass to regulate fluctuations in temperature. The wall bears the imprint of local Douglas Fir taken from the wood adjacent to the site, and is a palimpsest rewriting of the history of the site. The external landscape infuses this house as the boundary between the two is blurred.
