The Beeches represents my approach to speculative design – exploring what becomes possible when architecture truly responds to landscape. This proof-of-concept project for a 0.26-hectare South Oxfordshire site takes its name from the magnificent copse of beech trees at its heart, with additional mature trees framing the perimeter. The design celebrated these trees, creating a building that would feel inevitable to its tree-studded setting.
The architecture inverts conventional thinking, placing living spaces on the upper floor where they would engage directly with the tree canopy. Here, the master bedroom and main living areas would exist among the branches, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. Two additional bedrooms occupy the ground floor, with much of this level designed to function independently – offering flexibility for extended family or rental income.
Drawing from traditional barn forms while speaking a contemporary language, the building employs a simple pitched roof with a dramatic cut-away that creates a covered balcony for the living room. This gesture both frames views to the surrounding trees and brings the outside in. The material palette responds to its wooded context: vertical timber cladding to the upper floor and roof echoes the established beeches, while textured board-on-board cladding grounds the building at earth level. The cut-away is clad in contrasting aluminium, a hint of the unexpected that elevates the everyday.
Performance would match poetry. High-performance fabric and carefully integrated renewable technologies would deliver comfort without waste – photovoltaics harnessing solar energy, rainwater harvesting reducing mains water demand, and a ground source heat pump providing efficient heating and cooling.
