Set in the heart of the Shropshire countryside, the house was carefully designed to sit quietly within its one-acre site, which the clients intended to landscape themselves. The brief called for a traditional three-bedroom family home that responded to its rural context while achieving the highest possible environmental performance.

Alongside the primary living spaces — including a kitchen-diner, utility, snug/living room, three bedrooms and three bathrooms — the design also needed to accommodate generous storage, a dedicated plant room for green technologies, and a home gym. Local planning constraints required the overall height of the building to remain in scale with neighbouring properties, leading to the introduction of a substantial basement level. This allowed ancillary and service spaces to be discreetly concealed while preserving the external proportions of the house.

The massing was further refined through extended front eaves, reducing the visual impact of the principal elevation. In contrast, the rear elevation is expressed as two full storeys, opening the house more confidently toward the landscape. Materiality reinforces this dual character: the front elevation references the local vernacular through the use of random stone with brick detailing, while the rear adopts timber cladding to create a more contemporary and personalised architectural language.

Sustainability was integral to the design. The house is highly insulated and airtight, incorporating mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. A south-facing array of photovoltaic panels is integrated seamlessly into the roof, while a grey-water recycling system supports WC flushing and garden irrigation, ensuring the home performs as efficiently as it sits comfortably within its rural setting.