Cheeran House is a new build one-off contemporary house located between Reading and Oxford. The design for the house is based on the desire to both enjoy a south-facing aspect into a courtyard while also engaging with the walled garden to the north, resulting in the main body of the house forming part of the wall.

A single-storey wing across the front of the site containing a guest suite and study occupy the front wing beneath a sedum roof. This becomes sunken into the rising site and is enclosed by flint-faced walls on two sides, while the main living spaces are set back beneath the upper floor to shade the fully glazed wall onto the courtyard. 

A large open plan kitchen-dining-living space creates an inside-outside living experience. The upper floor contains bedroom accommodation within a cedar-clad volume that sits above the rebuilt red brick of the walled garden, which culminates in a chimney that ties both volumes together. 

The design therefore creates a courtyard house that enjoys both a south facing aspect, while also opening out to views into the walled garden to the north. 

Mark Hurst was appointed Project Manager on behalf of the client.

Cheeran House won a RIBA South Region Award for the Design and Architecture 2016.

Location: West Berkshire

Completion: 2016

Construction: Steel and timber frame

Area: 285 sqm 

Architect: www.johnpardeyarchitects.com

Structural Engineer: Barton Engineers