Bury Gate Farm

, West Sussex, 2023

Splayed colonnade to south elevation, oak tress, South Downs national park, parkland villa

Driveway, covered front entrance, chimney stack, ribbed brickwork and green wildflower roof

Living room, stepped colonnade, rammed concrete columns

Splayed colonnade, rammed concrete columns and rain chain

living roof, wildflower, green roof, water struck brickwork

parkland villa, mature landscape, modern house, field oak

South Downs parkland villa mature landscape colonnade

Detail, rammed concrete column, precast fascia, lime mortar, flemish bong brickwork, rain chain, colonnade, loggia, concrete soffit and balustrade

South Downs parkland villa mature landscape, brickwork and rammed concrete columns

west elevation, loggia and colonnade, brickwork chimney stack, rammed concrete columns, South Downs

241_Section and Elevation — Long Section and West Elevation

241_View1 — View of approach from the east

241_View2 — View from the garden from the south west

A new house within the South Downs National Park in West Sussex to replace a dilapidated 1950's bungalow. Set on rising ground and against a dense wooded backdrop the site opens up to the south and west offering expansive views towards the Downs.

The heavy clay soils offer an unproductive landscape and have traditionally encouraged recreational use as landscape parks. With this in mind the house has been developed to read as a modern reinterpretation of a villa/small country house within a parkland setting rather than a traditional farmhouse. Though more modest in scale it takes cues from local examples such as at Bignor Park and Burton Park and offers a strong formal façade to the primary southern elevation.

The loose stepped plan is ordered by a 2-storey colonnade providing a strong classical and rhythmical face to the wider landscape. The fields to the south (which are also owned by our client) are purposefully drawn into the composition to establish the parkland feel and ground the house within the broader setting.

The simple palette of handmade brickwork, rammed and precast concrete has been chosen to reflect the varied tones and textures of the local sandstones and sit calmly against the backdrop of the woodland behind.

The RIBA Awards jury said of the project;

'The detailing and execution are near faultless. But what is truly exceptional about Bury Gate is its calm, gentle and yet solid presence in the landscape of rolling fields, woodland and tree-lined ditches. Its fragmented plan articulation is very skilfully handled, so that despite its large footprint and, at points, considerable volume, it feels rooted in the place, and its presence has an unexpected modesty, seriousness and constancy.

This is one of those rare projects that has such an easy presence that it transcends questions of why or how it came to be. It now stands as a permanent testament to both the architects’ and clients’ aspirations and skills.’

Photography: Ståle Eriksen

Project: Bury Gate Farm
Design Team: Joe Chilvers, Leonardo Remuzzi, Sandy Rendel, Sophie Roycroft (project architect), Katrin Wahdat
Collaborators: Copyhold (Main Contractor), Structure Workshop (Structural Engineer) ECE Planning (Planning Consultants)
Client: Confidential
Building type: New build, Residential
Location: West Sussex, UK
Status: Completed 2023
Publications: RIBA Journal 11/12.23, Wallpaper* 04/2024, Architects' Journal 07.03.24
Awards: RIBA South East Award, Manser Medal - AJ House of the Year Shortlist, Sussex Heritage Trust Award