Park Hatch was once a major estate occupied by a large eighteenth century classical house. However, it was demolished after the Second World War and this loss left a void on the historic landscape. A further property was built on the site in 1958 after the estate was broken up and sold by the owner. This proposal involves the replacement of the existing modern dwelling with a significant new country house of a design, scale and quality to compliment this unique location. The design is both ground-breaking and innovative both in its approach to sustainable design and its use of the classical language of architecture.

At the conceptual stage of the project, The Building Research Establishment (BRE) were appointed to work with Robert Adam Architects and Colvin and Moggridge, Landscape Architects. The project therefore evolved with the BRE as an integral part of the design team and fuses an original but literate classical design with ground-breaking sustainability.

The plan is entirely modern, responding to contemporary patterns of living, but is articulated in a classical manner taking into account geometry, proportions, scale, hierarchy and literate detailing. The design also responds to the topography of the site and has been developed around a virtually square plan, giving views across the landscape. The house is entered through a giant Corinthian portico, which leads into a double height entrance hall with gallery at first floor level. The hall acts as the spine of the building creating a central axis through the house and to the park beyond. A service wing projects eastwards, appearing as one storey and extending into a terrace. The basement level below is concealed and contains service rooms, and leisure facilities. The house is to be constructed red brick with a natural slate roof and an ashlar limestone central portion of each elevation. These natural materials, with low embodied energy are widely seen on country houses in Surrey and are a sensitive response to the defining characteristics of the local area.

The BRE’s report concluded that the house will be “the first zero carbon country house in Britain” and that, as a consequence it is truly ground-breaking and innovative, meeting the requirements of PPS7 and also creating the very exceptional circumstances to justify a new building of this size within the green belt. The design will hopefully help to raise the standards of design generally in rural areas via its exemplary sustainability.