A single folded roof that shelters three courtyards and every room around them.
The site is a narrow Kent orchard with neighbours close on both sides. The family wanted outdoor space that felt private and a house that felt open.
One continuous roof folds down to the boundaries and up over the courtyards. Every room faces inward to a garden instead of outward to the neighbours.
Client
Private client
Location
Kent, United Kingdom
Year
2022
Scope
New-build house
Area
380 m²
Status
Completed
Collaborators
Berg & Reid, structure
Photography
Anna Lowe
THE SITE
Pulling the garden into the middle of the house.
A conventional plan would have left two thin side yards and a garden in shadow. Folding the house around three courtyards puts sun in each one at a different time of day.
The old pear trees stayed. The smallest courtyard was drawn around the best of them.
“Every room has its own piece of garden, and none of them are overlooked.”
Elin Kessler — Founder & Principal Architect
Three materials for one roof and three gardens.
Timber
Larch cladding and roof
One material over the whole fold, weathering to an even silver.
Glass
Floor-to-ceiling sliding glazing
Courtyard walls that open completely in summer.
Stone
Kentish ragstone paving
Laid inside and out at the same level, so the threshold disappears.
PROCESS
Sketch to site.
01
Sketch
Sun and overlooking studies across the orchard.
02
Plan
One roof, folded three times in section.
03
Render
A card model of every fold before any drawings.
04
Built
Built in one season, with the roof finished before winter.