The Cook’s House Gloucestershire
Location Gloucestershire
Project Type New Build
Project Status Built
The Cook’s House is a contemporary re-imagining of the Palladian villa, a precursor to the English country house. The design utilises and interprets the core principals of the classical country villa.
The main house design directly responds to the owner, the site and the site’s heritage. It gives special priority to the kitchen, both as the heart of the modern home, and to reflect the owner’s profession. The kitchen and its adjoining rooms have been designed with close input from the owner. The proposed materials of stone, timber and metal have been selected to work with the retained agricultural buildings and the wider, rural setting.
A hierarchy of spaces is defined by the prominent ‘Piano Nobile’, a raised ground floor containing the main living and public spaces. The master and second bedroom suites are contained within the second floor. They are set back from the façade to be read as part of the roofscape, allowing a simplicity and elegance to the Piano Nobile.
This hierarchy is extended across the site. Guest accommodation and offices are located in a courtyard building. The main house and courtyard building bookend an original agricultural barn retained for the formal dining room and library.
