New build rc frame house cut into the hillside overlooking the River Avon.
2020 British Homes Awards – Large House of the Year Award
Cut into the existing slope, on the site of an existing house, this project sits on the bank of the River Avon in the popular Avon Castle Drive area of Ringwood. The form of the building is effectively open fronted cuboids stepped back as you rise up the slope to maximise the views of the river.
From the entrance to the site, the building emerges from the existing ground level, with a lightweight braced steel framed structure. This apparent single storey building provides no clues to the visual drama beyond.
Looking back at the building from the river, the wrapped concrete form provides raft slab support of the building at the garden floor level with the walls providing soil retention to the sandy earth beyond.
Rising up the building, the slabs become suspended between the walls and internal columns forming the ceiling of the concrete “box” below and the floor of the space above. Setting back this box into the hillside also provides external terrace areas enclosed with glass balustrades to maintain sight lines.
Where the concrete form extends beyond the footprint of the building at lower ground and ground floor slab levels, these areas are supported on circular concrete columns founded on concrete pad footings. These areas create covered terraces and secluded zones to maximise the outside space adjacent to the house.
© Eckersley O’Callaghan 2024
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