The ancient Roman town of Medbourne is now the new home to our oak frame.  The design brief was to create large space and natural light on an existing stone cottage in a very tight exterior space.

With a clever design of an internal oak frame being the hub of the extension, we were able to build off this and into the tight exterior stone walls to use the maximum room the site offered.

This created several hurdles, the first being the roofing, this was resolved with the use of one pitched roof to the main oak structure then part flat and single pitched roofs to the “spoke” elements of the build.

The entire build was encased in several layers of insulation giving above and beyond the regulated specification.

The outer envelope of the oak frame was either stone or glass, the glass being clamped onto the oak structure using quarter sawn 41mm oak boards and the direct glaze method.

This method although being time consuming, prevents all water and draught ingress and prolongs the life and the integrity of the oak frame.

With the existing cottage offering the traditional cosy feel with the low ceilings and beams, the total contrast that the oak frame now brings with its natural texture, abundance of natural light and feeling of space gives a beautiful balance of the two styles of living.

Where the contemporary meets the traditional, this transitional area is used to visually aid the splitting of the functions within this large vaulted space.

The exterior was landscaped to create a focal point from the main sitting/kitchen area and to also incorporate colour and texture.

The overall feel of the now complete project is space, light & quality.

The clients have been surprised by the total transformation of project with the over-riding factor being the use of very tight existing space to create what seems like an oak extension with no major space constraints.

We are more than pleased with the outcome of everybody’s hard work and I can safely say that the clients are too!