Magog Farmhouse Dwelling

Named after the poem Rural Architecture by Westmorland poet William Wordsworth this served as an initial spark and point of inspiration, picking up on the themes of place, tradition and resistance to authority that the poem encapsulates.

 

The form of the main dwelling has been designed in direct response to the topography, working with the falls of the hillside across the site, a single storey massing sitting low on the site, resulting in a reduced low form mass when viewed from all directions. Furthermore, the integration of in intensive green roofs into the design further reduces the scale and effect within its setting. By fragmenting and articulating the building’s appearance there will an element of complexity and texture to help merge the building into its context.

 

A mineral based approach to materiality has been adopted, using a limited architectural palette which responds both in its tone and in terms of local availability to the South Lakeland vernacular language. The use of the selected principal materials – natural limestone rubble built with lime-mortar, with local slate are used in a thoroughly contemporary way. The building has been conceived as a modern reinterpretation of the traditional farmstead shippon, with many references being made to this precedent.

 

A new wildlife pond, located at a low point of the site, will be an ecological hub. Visible domestic garden spaces are kept to a minimum and close to the building. The naturalistic garden planting will be seen as an extension to the meadow planting types, providing a seamless connection between them, making the house part of the landscape. Climbing plants and the green roof will reinforce this. Solely native or naturalised species will be used in the wider landscape, with domestic landscape being kept to a minimum immediately associated with the house.