Field House
Cotswolds AONB
Field House is a private residence set within a rural, agricultural landscape on the northern edge of Icomb, a Cotswold village located two miles south-east of Stow-on-the-Wold in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. An example of a Paragraph 84 project (NPPF, December 2024), it’s a new, sensitively designed home of exceptional quality that will enhance its surroundings.
Marking our first collaboration with Loyn + Co Architects, our aim was to integrate the house with the landscape, bringing nature into and over the building. We worked closely with an ecologist, seeking to transform the existing site from a neglected and damaged landscape to a place of high ecological value. Our design introduced native meadows that seamlessly merge with the more ornamental garden spaces around the building, connecting with the native woodland at the entrance and creeping along the boundaries.
Status
Work In Progress
Client
Private
Architect
Structural & Civil Engineer
Integral Engineering Design
Landscape Contractor
Walmsley Shaw
Response to Site
The east-facing site is surrounded by a patchwork of fields, accented by hedges and small, scattered, geometric blocks of woodland. In keeping with this setting, we prioritised two major habitats: the woodland and the meadow. At the centre of the site, the house is designed to be tucked into the folds of the land, celebrating the extensive views and making the most of the ever-moving springs on site. Nature flows over the house, creating a mixture of ornamental, meadow and biodiverse roofs.
Enhancing Habitats
Together, the woodland and meadow landscapes will result in many ecological benefits, improving not only the immediate setting but also filtering out to enhance the wider surroundings. A new wildlife pond, located at the lowest point of the site, will be an ecological hub and a focal point when viewed from the house—making use of the surface water run-off from the roof and hard landscaping. Our design also includes a green ribbon running north to south, linking the secret garden with the building, manifesting itself in habitat walls that integrate nature directly into the crevices in the stone.
Plants in Use
Restoring the rural character of the place, naturalistic garden planting provides an extension of the meadow and woodland planting schemes, creating a seamless connection between them and making the house feel inextricable from the landscape. Climbing plants and green and brown roofs further enhance this.
One of the defining characteristics of the local landscape are the well-maintained hedges that divide the sloping fields. This is echoed on site through replanting and laying of the existing hedges.
Woodland planting frames the entrance to the site, allowing visitors glimpses along rides as they approach the house to the views beyond. To the south will be an orchard, once a common feature of the Icomb landscape.
