This week James Wells Architects won an award at the 2021 Sussex Heritage Trust Awards Presentation.
This year’s winner is a stunning West Sussex retreat with three buildings created by JWA.
The family home is situated in West Sussex, north of the South Downs, with spectacular views both south towards the coast and north towards the Surrey Hills. The project comprises three elements, each designed by James and the team.
Photographic studio on left, new build barn in middle and pool house on right
The first to be completed was a listed farm store, repurposed as a photographic studio, along with the adjacent Victorian stable, which became a workshop. The original Fittleworth stone and timber structure was retained and a new interior scheme created, working with the patina of the original building materials. Underfloor heating and a poured resin floor in the studio link through a short flight of steps to a timber floor in the workshop, and the two spaces share a double sided log burner. A west facing wall of glazing enjoys glorious summer sunsets as well as providing a panoramic view out into the landscaped garden.
A swimming pool was rebuilt and housed within a striking new contemporary pavilion, which also accommodates a spa facility. Glass walls slide back to link the elegant modern space into the sylvan garden, and the local Fittleworth stone walling is juxtaposed with a slender steel structure to frame the space. The pool house has a sedum roof which, as well as providing flora for the local fauna, helps to keep the pavilion insulated and reduces the rate of surface water run-off.
Finally, a large new build barn gained planning consent through a carefully constructed argument, based on aerial photographs, demonstrating that an original barn had once stood in this position. The new barn was designed using local stone salvaged from the ruins of the original and detailed with beautiful, locally sourced oak. Within it we created a gym, with a home office and library space over, together with several bespoke joinery pieces for the library, bar and stairs.
JWA worked closely with Nicholls Countryside Construction http://www.nichollsltd.com on this project. Richard Nicholls and his team once again brought superb building and craft skills to the realisation of the three buildings. Also at the 2021 Sussex Heritage Trust Awards, Luke Ayling won a Building Craft Award for his construction of the oak timber frame for the new build barn. Luke had input into the concept design of the barn, drawing on his considerable knowledge of historic timber framed barns, and the structure was hand-crafted throughout using traditional methods from semi-seasoned oak beams.
Traditional hand-crafted oak structure of the new build barn crafted by Luke Ayling
James Wells comments, “This is the fifth year we have entered the highly regarded Sussex Heritage Trust Awards and I’m proud to be a recipient of an award once again. Sussex is a county steeped in a range of heritage building assets and it is vital building professionals continue to respect and enhance the amazing listed buildings we live amongst.”
The Sussex Heritage Trust Judges commented, “A well-considered and superbly executed project. Particular praise should be given to the ‘new build’ elements of the scheme and the sensitive setting of the overall complex within the landscape.”
If you are considering redeveloping a listed building or building a new house, please do talk to us. As award winning architects with long experience of the Sussex planning regime, we can help you consider the possibilities open to your project.
