Sharp geometries and comfortable mother nature meet in this Surrey garden
We consider a wander in a Surrey garden that combines sharp architecture by Surman Weston and naturalistic planting by Matthew Childs Design to excellent result
The ideal dose of visual pressure involving the organic and the human-manufactured can breed harmonious results, as this pool property and back garden scheme in the depths of Surrey’s countryside demonstrates. A collaboration concerning London-based architecture follow Surman Weston and local garden architecture and landscape professional Matthew Childs Structure, it consists of a finely crafted making and pool system established in an expansive ‘wild’ landscape that perfectly contrasts with the sharply lined pavilion. The lush greenery extends to the edges of the Surrey backyard site, which features a primary private home that, funnily sufficient, was at the time the pool house of a close by mansion.
It all commenced when Childs was approached to work on the surroundings close to the main residence back again in 2019. He invited Tom Surman and Percy Weston to make the pool construction – the two studios had crossed paths ahead of as Surman Weston had made Childs’ Reigate studio a few decades back again. The workforce, which involved task architect Hilton Murrell, realized from the begin that they needed to have a unified tactic for the total style, creating architecture and landscape hand in hand, on equal footing. ‘We preferred a definitely built-in plan,’ Childs says.
Naturalistic Surrey garden and geometric pool household
The rectangular swimming pool intersects the concrete terrace, whose round shape is mirrored by the nearby firepit seating region
Nonetheless equal does not imply the exact. ‘The landscape has a form of ruggedness and a wilder feel to it,’ claims Surman. ‘We liked the thought of including a extra geometric, bolder centre issue to distinction with the landscape – they would greatly enhance just about every other.’ The architects cite as references Palm Springs’ Frey Dwelling II, for its steel roof and austere architecture set against a spectacular normal landscape, and KGDVS’ Solo Residence in Spain, for its geometries and openness. In the meantime, Childs drew inspiration from the function of landscape architect Thomas Church, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater. ‘In certain, how present-day architecture and organic landscape can do the job in harmony, be specified dynamism by going drinking water and softened with vegetation,’ Childs points out.
Their joint, typical principles resolved, the staff received to work, with yard design and architecture developing independently but in dialogue with each individual other. The landscaping (constructed by Belderbos Landscapes) borrows factors from the architecture and vice versa. For instance, rounded outside seating echoes the shape of the pool dwelling.
The pool home architecture appears basic – a Douglas fir timber design, topped by a mild corrugated aluminium roof, and sat on best of a concrete foundation, which retains the drinking water and transforms into a hardwearing, textured and anti-slip flooring inside of. The interior consists of a main open up-plan room for seating all around a wooden-burning stove, as nicely as a different rest room. Everything is finely crafted (the structure was prefabricated and swiftly assembled on web-site, featuring bespoke kitchen area and cabinetry) and there’s an overarching perception of lightness about the design. ‘We designed it like an outside home,’ states Surman. ‘I imagined that the sliding doors would normally be open up, but similarly, in the winter, you can close it off and it’s just huge sufficient to have the hearth on and be cosy.’
Developed on the web page of an current 1.5m-substantial retaining wall, the new curved pool home straddles the level adjust and cantilevers over the woodland
Westmorland stone discovered on web site and traces of abandoned drinking water options from the garden’s earlier life motivated Childs to make a naturalistic landscape of h2o and rock. The intention was to make it all search as although it experienced generally been there. ‘Matt came up with this wild scheme that had tons of water, reintroducing waterfalls, cascading into a more substantial and then lesser pond that then becomes the concrete disc of the pool and pool residence,’ points out Surman. ‘He’s managed to retain an plan of the wilderness that was there in advance of, but he’s injected routes, locations for sitting down, a firepit and additional.’
The consequence is correctly poised and diligently prepared but not extremely manicured. New experienced trees enable produce the perception that this richly wooded landscape has usually been there, while also concealing the pool household from the key residence, fostering a perception of discovery.
In the meantime, the sides of the concrete disc that retains the pool dwelling framework cantilever out, extending into the surrounding greenery. ‘Cantilevering over the lender helps make you feel like practically all of the landscape around the residence is component of the backyard garden,’ states Childs, pointing out this is a technique that has usually been used in historic landscape design. ‘In a identical design and style, we are “borrowing” the sights and creating them portion of our project.’ §