Country Estate and Natural Pool House
Set in 200 acres of open rural Hertfordshire countryside we are working to extensively renovate a historic private estate that prioritises sustainability and the health and wellbeing of its occupants with the aim of better connecting the family to the landscape and nature whilst delivering a more sustainable future for buildings and land.
The main house is a Grade II listed former rectory which has been raised in height with a new floor level and extended over the years, and today is formed of 10 bedrooms and 5 reception rooms laid over 4 floors. The result is a home that has become too large and is inefficient and expensive to run.
Our brief was twofold; to remove the existing roof and top floor of the main house, return the building to its original form, and add a new pool house, yoga studio and natural reed filtered external swimming pool within the grounds in place of an old tennis court. The pool house proposal will be an operational net carbon zero building using solar panels, a biomass boiler and a ground source heat pump. It also utilises sustainable materials, such as CLT, and pre-fabrication construction methods.