The Farmer’s House by AR Design Studio

The Farmer’s House is a project of an extension and makeover of an existing house, located in Hampshire, England. Measuring 613m² (6,598ft²), the project was designed by AR Design Studio in 2017 as the UK base for clients, who return to the English countryside from their travels to tend to their farmstead.

The old and new are joined by a glazed link that sits between the existing house and the new annexe. The annex, which sits to the east, is surrounded by a large covered alfresco dining and relaxing area. The terrace and pool sat centrally in front of the house are tied in with a large sweeping canopy above. This reaches around the existing house, and continues to the west of the plot, providing an additional sheltered seating space. This canopy incorporates openings for the existing trees and partial shading elements, providing protection to the southern facing façade with delicate timber louvres.

Visually, the extension appears as a single mass placed on the landscape, with the snug, kitchen/living and dining space, utility room, and two of 3 bedrooms on the ground floor. Small punctuations have been made into the timber cladding to introduce natural light, yet their scale kept modest to protect the rooms from the on looking driveway. The geometry of the façade is clad with fibre cement and provides the dining area with more privacy. The hidden subterranean mass below avoids a visual bulk which could otherwise swamp the existing house’s proportions, and includes a bedroom, plant room and garage space for 2 cars.

— AR Design Studio

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