Frilsham Quarry: South House

AHG have proposed two dwellings of exceptional quality and innovative design in accordance with “Paragraph 80” of the National Planning Framework in Frilsham Quarry, a small former lime quarry located within the North Wessex Downs

The site layout carefully locates two isolated dwellings arranged to maximise privacy and minimise visual intrusion towards neighbours and towards one another. An open swale acts as the demise line between north and south house plots, obviating the need for intrusive fenced boundaries.

Each house takes the form of a green podium configured to act as a stop end to the expansive profile of the quarry face. Common characteristics will ensure a cohesive look and feel, each dwelling has a distinct identity.

“Strata” is the name given to the South House. It sits on lower ground and is tucked into the green wooded scrub which in the summer encloses the western edge of the quarry floor. The L shaped footprint returns towards the quarry face creating a more discrete and intimate garden.

The arrival experience ascending a gravel drive into the green buffer contrasts with the more open more solid feel of the north house and glimpse views through to the gardens are created with glazed apertures.

Here one of the three metallic volumes is visible and takes the form of an inverted lime hopper inspired by discarded artefacts on the site. This provides the ideal vaulted form for well ventilated living spaces, whilst creating a striking visual reference to the industrial quarrying heritage.