Sonning

A replacement house on a spectacular site in Berkshire, this house is located on the edge of the village of Sonning. A location steeped in history as an ecclesiastical centre of Anglo Saxon England and described by Jerome K Jerome as one of the most picturesque locations on the river Thames. The site offered an opportunity to realise a spectacular house in one of the most exclusive and desirable locations in the UK.

A single private residence, the house included among other things a gym, a spa, a cinema room, six bedrooms and garaging for six cars.

The house itself is conceived as a courtyard building set at the far end of the site accessed by a long sweeping drive. The courtyard serves to contain the ancillary spaces such as the parking, garage and outbuildings. The walls of this courtyard are formed of local rough knap flint – using a traditional construction method which was used historically in the village since Anglo Saxon times, for many of the boundary walls and buildings.

From here, the entrance hall is approached across a reflecting pool which extends into the garden beyond. One of the main features of the house, the double height entrance hall provides a dramatic reception space and allows a view down to the Thames, located at the bottom of the garden.

This space which includes the stair acts a central node for the house. The staircase leads to an entertaining space and terrace on the first floor with a bar overlooking the grounds and the Thames beyond. On the ground floor it links to the kitchen living dining space which leads to a further dining terrace and beyond this, a long walkway leads to an outdoor swimming pool. As many of the rooms as possible are orientated towards the view and all bedrooms have their own terrace space, full height sliding glazing and en-suite bathrooms.

Luxurious materials are used throughout with smoked oak panelling to the circulation areas and basalt flooring throughout the ground floor. Marble and leather were hand selected from quarries and suppliers in Italy.

For this project we undertook design and management of all aspects of the project from the initial concept and planning application through to all aspects of detailed design. This included procurement of the interior design, lighting design, audio visual installation, landscaping and all fittings and furniture.

The house succeeds in creating what has become the hallmark of the practice – an unapologetically contemporary private house within a quintessentially traditional English setting.