Silverheys is a new-build private house in Hale Barns, Cheshire.
The 7,000 sq ft house is designed over four floors and includes a 14m swimming pool, steam room, gym and home office. The basement is visually connected to the other spaces in the house via a glass floor in the entrance hallway.
The entrance space is the heart of the building and connects all four levels with the main living and entertaining spaces being arranged on the ground floor, and the upper two floors comprising five large bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms.
The client wanted a modern approach to design for living – both in the form of the house and the internal arrangement of spaces. Also that the building should allow seamless indoor/outdoor living.
The design response is to create a form of simple geometry which is given visual interest by using a range of high quality materials, and by articulating the building through layering and interconnecting the floors on different planes.
The materials are a combination of brick, render and timber. Brick connects the building to the landscape, whilst the render of the first floor floats over this strong base to emphasise the contemporary form. Timber adds a further natural richness to the material palette. Large glazed openings ensure that the house also has depth and transparency and allows natural light to penetrate deep into the house.
The design also adopts a series of passive and active sustainability technologies including over-insulation, photovoltaic, ground source heat pump, green roof and rainwater harvesting. The building is designed to achieve level 4 under the Code For Sustainable Homes.
