Rickmansworth Residence is a project designed by Gregory Phillips. The clients purchased the site with an existing bungalow occupying the plot. The existing house having had little architectural merit. We saw an opportunity to build a new unequivocally contemporary home. The constructed design comprises a 400m2 main house occupying two floors and a distinct garden building of 110m2 which includes an in-door swimming pool. The house is a sleek, stylish and modern 21st century house. With every detail finely honed, the house is a shining example of carefully-considered architecture and precisely-detailed construction. Photography by Nick Tydeman.

A double height hallway design allows the south facing winter sun to be brought into the living spaces at ground floor . This double height glass helps ensure that the use of heating in the winter is minimised and that natural light is plentiful. In the summer, unwanted sun-gains are shaded by the fact the glazing is set back in a deep reveal with an overhang. This deep reveal also helps provide fenestration to the facade and ensure that the double height glazing is less prominent. The central kitchen / living / dining space is the focus of the house. Within this arrangement the property has achieved an outstanding level of spatial variety and sequence. The route from the entrance passes through a small, dark panelled hallway straight into a double-height, roof-lit atrium before entering the full-wid...