A family home in Oadby has been chosen as one of the five best projects in the East Midlands by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Maple Lodge was a dilapidated old bungalow on a sloping site.
The new owner wanted to create a modern family home inspired by Scandinavian and Californian architecture from the mid-20th century but the bungalow is in the Meadowcroft Conservation Area, limiting what visible changes could be made. So while from the road it still looks like a bungalow, the building, designed by Levitate UK, is really a large family house and like something from Channel 4 show Grand Designs.
In their summary of the building for the awards the architects said: “The house fully reveals itself as you enter but then look down, through a double-height space with full-height window onto the garden, and the timber steps down into the living space. By cutting the house into the slope of the site, the house orientates itself to the garden, giving a calm atmosphere, light, and views that are unexpected from first impressions.”
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The house has a single-storey pavilion that extends out into the garden and a huge double-height space in the centre of the building is designed to feel like the “heart of the home”, they said.
(Image: Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022)
There are also solar panels, a rainwater recycling system, plants growing on the roof and an air-source heat pump to warm the house. The other four prize winners in the 2023 awards for the East Midlands were a new National Trust café in the Peak District National Park, Lincoln Cathedral Visitor Centre, the museum at Derby Silk Mill and a cottage extention in rural Lincolnshire.
(Image: Copyright Jim Stephenson 2022)
RIBA president Simon Allford said: “Winning a RIBA regional award is a fantastic achievement. These projects, selected by a rigorous peer review process, represent the very best of the region’s new architecture. Inspiring buildings and spaces bring joy to all our lives, and this year’s award winners certainly fit that bill.”
RIBA East Midlands Award winners will now be considered for a RIBA National Award, to be announced on June 22.
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