OB Architecture is an award winning RIBA Chartered Architecture studio specialising in the design and construction of contemporary homes across England and Wales.

Alongside residential projects, the practice is experienced in a wide range of building types including office, retail and mixed use.

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Holm Place is a new dwelling in the rural village of South Warnborough, Hampshire, UK. The 0.12 hectare site is located in the upper garden of Manor Court, a 17th century Grade II listed building which itself is situated in the South Warnborough Conservation Area. 

The brief was to create an exemplary modern home to accommodate four bedrooms with open plan living spaces for entertaining family and friends. The design aims to have a direct relationship to the garden, maximising light and blurring the threshold between inside and outside space. 

The L-shaped plan is pushed to the edges of the site to preserve the green setting around the listed building. The two-storey accommodation is positioned adjacent to the building line of Manor Court to create a direct relationship.

The elevational treatment and building materials take their cues from Manor Court, utilising a simple pallet of brick, timber, off white render, glass and zinc. The building is arranged on a 3m structural grid, which is expressed both internally and externally to give clarity and order to the composition.

For the external walls facing north, a solid enclosure was defined using brick replacing the existing boundary wall and a zinc cladding system above. The zinc references the agricultural buildings to be found in the local area and the lead on Manor Court.

Timber cladding was employed for the internal courtyard elevations with the vertical proportions matching the panels on Manor Court. The iroko was chosen for its durability and colour that will weather down to match the colour tone of the existing building. 

The ground floor accommodation has two distinct zones, the north wing containing an open plan glazed kitchen, dining, living space and the west wing containing the bedroom accommodation. Forming a connection between these two areas is the entrance hall, gallery and double height staircase. The circulation is defined by a minimal column structure that forms a cloister facing the walled garden.

The master bedroom suite at first floor is orientated south and designed with an intimate terrace that takes in the wide views of the countryside.

Photography: Martin Gardner

A 1930s house in Winchester with a dramatic glazed living, kitchen and dining space. Together with its extensive rear garden it has been transformed into a modern family home.

The Client’s brief was to extend and remodel the house at ground and first floor to provide a light filled kitchen dining space connected to a vibrant family room that opens out to maximize the potential of the large garden. The design seeks to reconcile the individual elements of the house by creating a singular elegant form. At first floor a new bedroom with ensuite is created.

Other additions include the insertion of oak timber trusses and an oak-sliding wall, which links the kitchen dining space with a day room. The works are complimented by a landscaped garden comprising swimming pool, pergola, timber decking and feature planting.

The architects specified a simple palette of materials including oak, limestone and off-white painted steelwork to give warmth and intimacy to the spaces. The use of stone and timber is continued externally to mediate between inside and outside.

The glazed extension uses structural glass supported from L-shaped steel box sections and incorporates large rooflights to bring light deep into the interior.

Photography by Martin Gardner

We were invited to design and deliver the refurbishment of a derelict workshop building in Hampshire to provide a headquarters for a British automotive company specialising in the servicing, restoration and racing of both modern and historic cars.

The clean and muted environment of the workshop provides a calm backdrop for the colourful array of supercars. Storage and parts are positioned on raised mezzanine areas to the side leaving a large double height area in the centre. A metal stair with cantilevered treads leads up to a break-out area at first floor, overlooking the workshop through a veil of timber louvers.

Photography: Martin Gardner

The brief required a contemporary house in a wonderful location overlooking the sea. 

The site presented us with a few challenges. First of all, it was set between 2 traditional, low lying thatched cottages identified as being of architectural significance. Secondly, the views out to sea were only achievable at first floor level, and thirdly, the front, less-private side to the plot faced south meaning there would be a conflict between the road and the proposed garden that would front onto it.

We developed a concept of 4 interlocking forms that would give the accommodation required, whilst respecting the scale of the cottages either side and the views they provided to the village. We proposed a long linear timber clad form at first floor, set above a light weight glazed section below, and a white rendered wing to the side with a projecting garage at the end to create a welcoming entrance courtyard. The composition is ‘anchored’ to the site by a double height entrance hall that is clad on the outside in dark grey zinc.

The walls were heavily insulated and sealed to create a highly efficient super structure. An air source heat pump provides the heating and hot water and a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system throughout the house recovers the heat from the kitchen and bathrooms to provide warm fresh air in the winter months.

The extensive areas of glazing give a constant reminder of the dramatic and ever changing weather in this exposed location: the dappled sunlight breaks through the trees into the kitchen in the morning; the rain showers down on the large rooflights over the dining area during the day; and the sun sets over the sea in the evening, filling the living area with an orange glow captured by the large framed window to the west.

Photography by Martin Gardner

A development of 3 modern townhouses in the centre of the historic city of Salisbury.

Status: Planning permission with Charter House Planning

The brief required a large contemporary family house that would take advantage of the lovely views over the fields and the Solent beyond.

The site lies within an Area of Special Character that is made up of predominantly traditional pitched roof houses, so the design of the new house had to mediate between the clients desire for a contemporary house and the planners requirements for a pitched roof form. The design also had to appear modest from the front to respect the 2 storey properties either side.

The resultant form is a house that appears as 2 storeys from the front, but whose roof rises up to 3 storeys at the rear to give expansive open views across the fields. The pitched roof and large chimney to the side echo the character of the other buildings along the road, but is given a contemporary feel with the use of timber, render, a metal roof and large glazed openings.

Photography by Martin Gardner

Set on an unassuming narrow plot within the Metropolitan Green Belt south of London, The Wrap House is a modern 200m2, 2 storey family home overlooking the open fields of Biggin Hill Airport.

The house comprises of 2 long 'wrapping' elements that stretch down the narrow site; the white rendered 'wraps' contain all the living and sleeping accommodation and are infilled with cedar panels and large expanses of glazing at each end. Set between these 'wrapping' elements is a double height glazed circulation atrium that runs through the entire length of the house linking all the spaces together and creating a visual connection between the front and the back of the house. The glazed atrium brings light deep into the house and mitigates against the east-west orientation of the plot, ensuring the living spaces are filled with natural light all throughout the day.

A study and kitchen is located at the front of the house with the dining area and a large double height living room at the rear overlooking the garden. At first floor 2 bedrooms are located at the front with the master bedroom and ensuite to the rear.

The house replaces a small, tired 1950s bungalow which sat amongst a row of equally undistinguished single storey properties. This posed the first of many problems in that the local planning authority would only allow for a 10% increase in size over the existing house. After much negotiation we eventually received permission for a circa 40% increase by using a hypothetical permitted development exercise showing how the existing house could be extended without planning permission. 

The replacement house also had to respect the heights of the surrounding bungalows; by manipulating the levels and stepping the building down, in spite of being a storey higher than the neighbouring properties, the flat roof parapet levels sit below the ridge lines of the adjoining houses.

The house was constructed for a relatively modest £1,500/m2, challenging the notion that bespoke modern houses cost from £2,000/m2 upwards.

The Wrap House has featured on the More4 series 'Building the Dream': Series 3 Episode 2: Kent.

Photography: Martin Gardner 

Paddock House was formerly a charming New Forest house whose character had been consumed by a series of unsympathetic modern extensions. It had been left unloved for a number of years and had fallen into a rather tired state; and its poor condition was sadly highlighted by the beautiful paddock setting which surrounded the house. 

When our clients approached us in 2014 they tasked us with sensitively extending and refurbishing the house to create a light-filled modern family home that engaged more with its wonderful setting. 

We set about developing a vision that would re-instate the original character of the house whilst opening it out to the lovely views over the paddock. We started by stripping off the incongruous extensions to the front of the house and replacing them with a 2 storey glazed section set between two white rendered gables. 

To the rear of the house we removed the heavy masonry walls overlooking the paddock and replaced them with a glazed extension open on three sides of the house to give all round views of the lovely setting. The structure of the new extension extends out beyond the glazing in the form of a pergola structure; the gesture seeks to connect the internal spaces with the terrace and the fire pit, creating a protective external space from which to enjoy the forest.

Internally the spaces were completely gutted and reorganised to create more generous open plan rooms.

Photography: Martin Gardner

Ivanhoe Terrace is located in the heart of the Winchester Conservation Area in a predominantly residential area. The existing structures on the site consisted of a 3-storey Victorian end of terrace house with a 2-storey 1960’s extension to the side. The two structures had been combined together to form an office space for the Women’s Institute.

Our clients, local developer Robert Weston Limited, purchased this site in the winter of 2015. They were keen to use the project as an opportunity to develop their brand as ‘lifestyle’ developers.

OB Architecture was approached to come up with a vision to enhance and re-invigorate the dilapidated and dated building, returning it to residential use. Our brief was to provide a unique design and a highly marketable product for our developer client.

The Victorian section of the building was a prominent and attractive feature in the street scene, but was undermined by the incongruous 1960’s extension to the side.

Taking advantage of the relaxation in the planning rules, we submitted a Prior Approval application to Winchester City Council for the change of use from offices to residential.

The converted office arrangement has been stripped back to the structural core and three new town houses have been carefully inserted into the existing fabric. The division between the units reinstates the original ‘break’ in the Victorian fabric, thereby helping to reinforce the historic character of the building.

The town houses comprise generous open kitchen/dining/living spaces with two double bedrooms and en-suites. From the outside, whilst the Victorian element of the building was repaired and enhanced, we were faced with the challenge of what to do with the incongruous 1960’s extension.

Conceptually, we decided to treat this element differently to that of the original building. Rather than trying to impose a pastiche façade to it, we decided to retain the contemporary form and re-imagine it with a new ephemeral layered façade.

An over-sailing, visually unsupported timber screen was proposed to the façade to add depth and relief to a previously flat elevation. ‘Accoya’ timber was specified, chosen for its dimensional stability and durability. It was left untreated to overcome maintenance issues and to allow it to weather naturally. The existing masonry of the ground floor was painted white to contrast with the red brick on the Victorian element.

The existing building fabric consisted of solid masonry walls, suspended timber joisted floors and cut in roofs, with a warm flat roof to the extension. The building fabric was upgraded in line with Approved Document L1b as required for a change of use. Acoustic treatments were added to party walls between the new dwellings and to those shared with the neighbours.

The unusual elevational approach to the modern unit creates an element of surprise within a very consistent red-brick Conservation Area. This unexpected intervention has helped our developer client create a brand that stands out in the crowded marketplace of Winchester developers. 

Photography: Martin Gardner 

A unique "Paragraph 55" house within a former lime quarry.

Status: Pre-planning

A four storey residential development in the centre of Croydon comprising of 7 no 2/3 bed apartments.

Status: on site

Dolphin House is a large Georgian style property situated in the heart of the Winchester Conservation Area.

Our clients tasked us with reorganising the ground floor and replacing an existing conservatory at the rear of the house to create a new space that would allow them to cook, eat and relax together in one large family room. The husband, a keen collector of vintage cars, also wanted to be able to cook whilst looking out at his cars which would be stored in a new garage at the back of the garden.

The final part of the brief required a contemporary look to the extension. Whilst the house itself was not historic, it was located in a highly sensitive area, surrounded by a number of Listed Buildings.

When we started looking at how we could extend the house, the solution fell into place quite easily, mainly due to the constraints on what was possible; the house is surrounded on all sides by other properties, so the size of the extension would be defined by the tight boundaries.

We reconfigured the ground floor plan and created a long linear extension to the rear to give a large open plan kitchen/living/dining area.

The challenge of the project, however, lay in producing an extension that was undeniably modern, but also sympathetic to the historic and Listed buildings that surround the house.

We took our inspiration from the intricate brick detailing of the surrounding Regency architecture to create a modern brick detail to the extension; a wrapping stack-bonded brick ‘arch’ frames two large sliding glass doors that open out to the courtyard garden. The sliding doors visually connect the open plan family room with a new glazed garage to the rear, allowing views from the kitchen all the way through to the cars in the garage.

The use of a matching brick helps to blend the extension with the existing house, whilst the unique detail immediately sets it apart as a modern addition to the house.

The result is an extension that gives the house some much needed additional space in a very tight and restrictive part of Winchester; and to the clients’ delight, it has all been achieved in a highly contemporary style.

Photography: Martin Gardner 

Our clients, Dan and Rachel, had a modest but perfectly adequate family home situated in Winchester. However, with a growing family and an itching desire to make something more of the house, they approached us in 2013 to see what could be done.

Whilst the upstairs was attractive and functional, the ground floor was dark and cramped, with a convoluted layout and small fragmented rooms. The connection with the garden was compromised by small windows and a lack of a direct access from the kitchen. Perhaps most significantly, the house was architecturally of little value.

So how can a modest 1970s house be transformed into a bright contemporary family home on a relatively limited budget?

We realised at an early stage that it was more prudent for the clients to invest their money developing the living spaces at ground floor. We started by looking at how we could open out the rooms in a cost effective way without compromising the structural integrity of the house and blowing the budget on a complex steel frame arrangement.

The first move was to extend the entrance hall out at the front to create a welcoming new double height glazed area. The stairs were re-orientated and the hallway widened. 

Beyond the hallway, the cramped arrangement of the kitchen, dining room and utility room was opened out and extended into the garden to create a large kitchen/dining area with a raised ‘snug’ to the side, providing a light and spacious room for the whole family to enjoy together.

Three panels of glazed sliding doors were placed along the rear elevation to connect the room with the garden, whilst two windows were placed in the kitchen and snug area with oversized cills to create small window seats.

Light grey matt finish kitchen units and a composite worktop is set against an oak parquet flooring to create a mid-century modern look to the room. A vivid blue splashback provides an accent of colour that is picked up elsewhere in the room with the coloured Eames chairs.

As the room faces north-west and is starved of sunlight in the morning, we proposed two large glazed roof lights above the dining table to bring more daylight into the room.

We created a small study overlooking the snug area, and a WC and utility room discretely accessed from the kitchen through a hidden door in the kitchen wall units.

The original dark, heavy staircase leading up to the bedrooms was replaced with a new bespoke oak stair with a timber slatted balustrade allowing the light to filter through.

At the front of the house, in spite of there not being many changes, the new double height timber and glass gives the house a renewed character and brings more life and interest to what was quite a modest frontage.

Dan and Rachel’s unwavering commitment to the design process has allowed us to radically transform their property from a cold, inward looking, box-like house, to a warm, welcoming, light-filled family home.

Photography: Martin Gardner 

OB Architecture were appointed to complete the extension and alterations to Wayside a large private house set in an approximately 1 acre of garden and mature landscape.

The house, built in the 1930’s required a fresh approach to unlock its potential and provide a modern family home.  Key to the works was the change in location of the principle access and the remodelling of the entrance. This opened up a more logic sequence of spaces from the loggia,  entrance hall, through to the kitchen; dining & open plan living area.

Augmenting the refurbishment of the ground floor rooms was a landscape strategy to open up the spaces to create a seamless link from inside to outside.  The landscape design utilises a natural pallet of materials to compliment the house and includes an impressive external swimming pool.

As well as the principle rooms OB Architecture undersaw the design and refurbishment of a new guest bathroom, family bathroom, master bedroom ensuite and children’s bedrooms.

Photography by Martin Gardner

OB Architecture were invited to extend, remodel and entirely refurbish a turn of the century Victorian villa in Surrey for a young couple and their 2 girls.

Sitting on a wonderful 2 acre plot in a Conservation Area, the house had suffered from a number of insensitive alterations and extensions that had eroded the character of the original house. The connection with the garden had been lost and the house had started to fall into a state of disrepair.

We explored how we could work with the existing house to reinstate its original character, yet extend it and reconfigure it in a way that would preserve the character whilst making it more practical for modern family living.

A 2 storey extension sits to the side of the house, separated from the original house by a frameless glazed link, this gesture allowing the original form of the house to be clearly perceived against the new extension.

To the front, the extension appears traditional with only the glazed link suggesting something more unexpected beyond its solid masonry walls. Overlooking the garden, the extension opens out with large areas of glazing, with a master ensuite at first floor and a cosy sitting room at ground floor, separated from the study by a wood burning stove. A large chimney 'anchors' the composition to the site and references the rhythmical array of chimneys and flues that line the street.

The cramped kitchen is replaced a with a large open plan kitchen/dining area that extends into the garden with a glazed roof and a wide panel of bi-folding doors. The doors open out to a new raised terrace overlooking the garden. 

The roof is retiled in slate and the crumbling rendered facade is over-clad in an insulated render system providing a crisp new warm 'jacket' to the house.

Photography by Martin Gardner

Briardene is a small development of 2 detached houses on the site of a former bungalow in the village of West Wellow in Hampshire.

Our developer client wanted to maximise the potential of the site with a sensitive but contemporary scheme that would find favour with the planning officers. Our challenge was to convince the local authority and neighbours alike that a net gain of one unit was acceptable on what is quite a restricted site.

We engaged in extensive negotiations with all stakeholders over a period of 8 months which eventually resulted in planning permission being consented for the 2 houses.

The houses are arranged around a protected tree to the front of the site. Their footprints turn away from each other to acknowledge the shape of the plot, creating an interesting relationship with one another and also with the street scene as it approaches the corner with the private drive.

The dwellings are conceived as traditional rural forms with low, sweeping pitched roofs. The base is formed from a mixed red brick that rises to create a chimney to the rear, whilst the upper floor is constructed from an exposed oak frame with cedar clad infill panels. 

The low profile of the houses and the textured facing materials help to make their less conventional appearance settle quite comfortably within the rural setting.

Internally, the wide entrance halls lead onto a large open plan kitchen, living and dining areas that open out to the gardens beyond. A separate study looks out over the front of the houses, with integral garages on the other side of the front door.

At first floor, the rooms are set within the profile of the roof, creating more lofty spaces that are open to the apex. The 1st floor contains 3 bedrooms, including a master bed with ensuite.
 

Photography: Martin Gardner

New build house with basement pool in Berkshire.

Status: Planning application

A new dwelling on the Sandbanks.

Status: Planning permission

A residential development of three dwellings in West Sussex.

Status: Completion on site Autumn 2017

Set within the Pantiles Conservation area in Tunbridge Wells, this highly contemporary 3 storey house replaces a modest 1960s bungalow. Set against the backdrop of Victorian and Edwardian houses, the white rendered modernist house has been designed to rest discretely in the site, with a 2 storey elevation facing the road and a 3 storey stepped facade to the rear. A series of roof terraces at the back open out to a contemporary landscaped garden providing a strong connection between the inside spaces and the outside spaces.

The main living spaces are located on the ground floor. The large open plan kitchen/living/dining area opens out to 2 raised terraces. Further reception and bed spaces are located at lower ground floor, with a master bedroom and 2 more bedrooms at first floor.

A highly insulated timber ground and first floor superstructure sits on top of an innovative waterproofed concrete basement structure.

Warwick Park has been featured in Self Build and Design magazine. Read the article here.

Photography: Steve Taylor

Last four photos in the slideshow on the right by Olly Bray.

A development of 6 houses in Surrey.

Status: Planning submission

New 3-storey dwelling and the conversion of an existing office building.

Status: on site

New 4-storey 1,000m2 house in Farnham.

Status: Completion 2018

Extension and remodelling in Beaconsfield.

Status: Completion December 2017

A timber and glass extension to a Victorian terrace house in Winchester.

A 4-bedroom dwelling in open countryside nr Southampton.

Status: Planning permission

Redevelopment of a brownfield site to create a pair of contemporary 'vernacular' semi-detached houses looking out over the open fields of the South Downs.

Status: planning approval

A replacement barn-style dwelling in the heart of the New Forest.

New 5-bedroom dwelling overlooking the sea in Tenby, South Wales.

Status: on site

Extension and remodelling of a Grade II listed building in Surrey.

Status: on site