Contemporary rural architecture

The English Countryside is special.

William Green Architects are privileged to work across a large part of southern England, where there are many outstanding cities, towns, villages, parks, forests, woods and landscapes. Most bear the hallmarks of specific characterful vernacular Architecture.

We appreciate this rich fabric and enjoy understanding the local lay of the land, the particular climate conditions, the language of materials, the natural vegetation and ground conditions. William Green Architects wish to celebrate this and strongly feel that contemporary Architecture provides the opportunity to do this.

Successful contemporary rural architecture is deeply linked to the context of the location. The massing and orientation, the material palette, and the openings will all be informed by and respond to the site's inherent contextual qualities.

Contemporary architecture can be a single one-off jewel-like building akin to an art installation, often uniquely juxtaposed to the organic patterns of nature. Alternatively, it can also be sensitive to centuries old building techniques, language and patterns.

In each situation, the architectural form and massing will be deeply connected to the site's natural context.

Rural sites more often than not have many key qualities, that when recognised and utilised, help inform the design. This results in a building that naturally settles into place, conveying a connected synergy with the landscape. This connection is often subtle but can be understood and experienced in numerous ways throughout the building, from a picture window capturing a view to a feature tree in a courtyard conveying the time of day in shadow.

We very much enjoy considering and creating these interplays that help give the building a character of its own and enhance the sense of well-being garnered from a place.

The countryside provides the perfect canvas upon which to create deeply thought-out contemporary architecture. We are always delighted to stumble across surprise jewels of contemporary architecture sitting quietly within the rural idyll. The best are understated, but exquisitely executed.

The beauty has a scaleless quality and comes from the location, orientation, form, and massing of the materials used informing the rhythm of the joints and fixings. All carefully designed, built, crafted and sculpted.

These are buildings that everybody likes.

All of us at William Green Architects enjoy bringing this deep connected thought to our projects and having like-minded clients, who appreciate architecture and share these goals.