The Lake House
The Lake house is crafted family home developed under the Paragraph 84 policy, a place of mystery built upon the ruins and memory of a bygone era. PAD studio’s research uncovered abandoned historic farm buildings dating to the seventeenth century that had been hidden from view and reclaimed by nature.
Celebrating nature as a material in the palette.
Project Info
- Location: National Park
- Cost: £2.5 million
- Designation: National Park, Area of Outstanding Beauty, Agricultural Rural Countryside
- Image Credit: Of Light Studio
Environmental Data
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Energy Efficiency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Insulation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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Thermal Mass
1 2 3
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Airtightness
1 2 3 4 5
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Solar PV
1 2
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Embodied Carbon
1 2 3 4 5
- Heating/Hot Water
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Solar Thermal
Yes No
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Rain Water Harvest
Yes No
- Ventilation
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Energy Storage
Yes No
This unique and inspiring site encompasses a natural clearing adjacent to ancient woodland. The marshy dew pond is enhanced to form a lake, above which this luxury retreat sits, delicately placed and floating unobtrusively above its landscape. Touching lightly, it fully immerses its inhabitants into the environment. Platforms extend from the house, across the lake, creating a journey around the house. The natural landscape is extended onto the roof, rendering the house invisible from the approach above the site, a nod to the undiscovered nature of the previous building, which was stumbled upon by accident. The biodiversity enhancement of the landscape furthers the site’s narrative, starting a new chapter in its history.
As a Paragraph 84 application currently under negotiation, the project seeks to set new standards for the Country House. The design responds to time and place while being conscious of its history.
The external palette is simple yet textural, with timber sourced from the client’s woodland and Earth Friendly Concrete (EFC) used to form an innovative Vierendeel truss. EFC is a zero-cement concrete that significantly reduces embodied CO2, making it an environmentally conscious choice. The truss system allows for large expanses of glazing and unhindered open plan living, which opens onto a sheltered winter garden, allowing for a morning coffee amongst nature, whatever the English weather.
The design seeks to respond to time and place whilst conscious of its history. “As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.” – Norman Foster
Our design ethos is that our design approach is grounded in people and place and we are forensic in our research, often uncovering gems of local history which enhance our client's experience of where they live and allow us to weave the story from start to finish with the local authority and all stakeholders involved.
“Architecture is the very mirror of life. You only have to cast your eyes on buildings to feel the presence of the past, the spirit of a place; they are the reflection of society.” – I. M. Pei
