Practice looks to ‘country house clause’ for Hampshire reservoir plans
AR Design Studio has worked up proposals for a water-lily inspired house that would float on a Hampshire reservoir.
The practice said it would seek approval for the scheme under the National Planning Policy Framework’s so-called “country house clause” – Paragraph 79 of the key planning rulebook, which allows new homes in countryside areas when they are of “exceptional quality”.
AR Design Studio said the 505sq m scheme, named Water Lily House, was earmarked for a disused agricultural reservoir near Alresford and that it would provide future residents with 360-degree views of the surrounding countryside as well as promote biodiversity.
“The scheme mimics the lily’s qualities,” the practice said. “The plant works to keep the temperature down by the shade cast by the leaves, helps to keep algae growth down and gives shelter from both the sun and predators to the pond life inside. The lily serves to protect the life which sustains it, and the house aims to replicate this behaviour.”
AR Design Studio said its design responded to the location “with a radial form, comprising of a series of compartmentalised pods”, each of which was “orientated to capture specific views within the site, that are further enriched by a detailed landscape design scheme”.
The five-bedroom property would be accessed via a footbridge from an entrance courtyard, and would also have a garage hidden on the bank of the reservoir. At the centre of its five pods is a sun terrace and plunge pool. There would also be a “swimming pond” to the south of the property.
AR Design Studio said the materials palette for the house had been inspired by the “surrounding agricultural vernacular”.
The practice has worked with engineers Keel Marine and landscape architect Ibbotson Studios on the project.
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Water Lily House wider landscape plan
PDF, Size 4.62 mbWater Lily House proposed ground floor plan
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