Wood Hill

Wood Hill is a proposal for a contemporary low-energy family home set into a wooded hillside in Hampshire. Designed as a semi off-grid dwelling, the project responds directly to the steep landscape and surrounding woodland setting.

The brief was to create a sustainable home that maximised long-distance views across the hillside while remaining carefully integrated into the natural topography. The main open-plan living spaces and principal bedroom suite are orientated towards the western views and evening sunlight, while more private and ancillary spaces are embedded deeper into the hillside to create a sense of shelter and connection to the landscape.

The proposal also includes a separate studio space partially concealed within the woodland, emerging from the hillside as a distinct secondary structure. The architectural approach contrasts heavier earth-bound forms with lighter and more transparent living spaces to reflect the changing relationship between the building, the terrain and the surrounding trees.

The home is designed to achieve high levels of energy efficiency through a highly insulated building envelope, ground source heat pump, MVHR ventilation system and integrated solar photovoltaic array.