Old School House is a Grade-II listed home nestled within a picturesque valley in Pitcombe, Somerset. Originally built as a small local school in the mid 19th-century, it was converted into a house after WWII and subsequently extended in the 1970s. However, this later addition was poorly planned, sitting unsympathetically against the original building and providing squashed and inadequate bedroom accommodation for subsequent owners.
When Bindloss Dawes were appointed in 2018 it became clear that the flawed extension needed to be replaced. Drawing inspiration from the scale and proportion of the original School House, a design was developed that was both distinct and sensitive to the existing architecture. Partly sunk in order to match the low eaves of the principal school building, it was possible to create a discrete two storey addition that simultaneously increased the floor area and sat sympathetically in its setting. Openings have been carefully placed to capture differing views across the valley, and the extension’s unimpeded position allows each room to capture light at different times of the day.
The new extension is clad in locally sourced English sweet chestnut and built from a highly insulated and cost-effective timber frame structure. Chestnut was chosen for its sustainability, stability, and elegant grain, but also because of how it weathers, meaning that over the years the whole extension will mellow into a light silvery grey, complementing the weathered, locally-quarried Hadspen stone of the main house.
Different designs for the timber cladding were explored, testing vertical and horizontal compositions in models and maquettes. The result was an open arrangement at roof and first floor levels, allowing rainwater to pass through the cladding and drain via hidden gutters, with a broader, closed board at ground level, breaking up the mass of the overall building. Bespoke chestnut pivot-windows were made to match the cladding, avoiding surface treatment to allow the whole building to weather evenly.
A smaller link building connects the old and new, revealing some of the original stonework previously covered by earlier extensions. Composed of patinated galvanised steel doors, the room faces up the valley towards the setting sun and connects to a concrete and chestnut staircase, illuminated by a high-level east facing window that captures the morning light.
The project was completed in 2023.
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