Project: Black House
Architects: AR Design Studio
Location: Kent, England
Area: 4,305 sq ft
Photographs by: Martin Gardner
Black House by AR Design Studio
AR Design Studio, a Winchester based architectural practice, have completed one of their most ambitious projects – the Black House in the beautiful countryside of Kent, England.
The unique design of the house was inspired by Sissinghurst Castle Garden, the home of write Vita Sackville-West. The castle in question has multiple gardens that are broken down into a series of unique experiences. They are hidden from each other thanks to hedges and brick walls that are carefully positioned. The connection of the space is visible from only one place – the writing room in the central tower.
The idea was translated into the Black House through a rectangular massing divided into blocks. Each block is linked to a certain aspect of the garden but the entire connection is visible from the roof of a brick tower.
This four bed family house sits in the heart of the Kent countryside surrounded by mature trees and gardens.
The house encompasses a mixture of framed and linear views across four carefully sculpted gardens that aim to each capture a piece of the surrounding landscape.
Inspired by the building and land topography of Dungeness, located on the south Kent coast, this house is a collection of five modules clustered around a central courtyard. The Black House’s rectangular massing was divided into blocks by key site axes, a view from the pool to a large populus tree, and a previous path to the site. Each block is linked to a distinct aspect of the garden, with a final connecting view provided from the roof of a brick tower. These volumes are all connected by the central courtyard, an area of extensive glazing allowing light and fresh air to continually penetrate the house, and provide year round sheltered outdoor space.
