Hillend: Shropshire Hills AONB

Hillend is the conversion and extension of a tiny cottage on a narrow wooded site. The original wood-mans cottage has been squashed between ad-hoc extensions on both sides and we have been looking at ways to improve these to provide a better set of spaces internally and a more coherent form externally. The new design will build on the existing footprint but provide large, open spaces with coordinated views out over the wooded landscape on all sides. I often use simple block models to help get the scale and from right and then collage over these on the computer using materials cropped from photos and reference images to explore materials and colours. I like the flexibility this gives to the design process and also the clarity in communicating the overall concept. While it is now possible to do near photorealistic rendering of designs which is sometimes useful there is often too much in the final images. Using a plain background allows me to choose exactly which elements are included or highlighted and the use of textures and details taken from real photographs can lend a curiously realistic quality to the simple blocks beneath. Because the original model is to scale there is an accuracy to the images in terms of size and context so you can be confident of the balance of forms when it comes to committing to build.