Merry Christmas from MRT
Our three newest members of MRT arrived in September as a trio, and are fully embracing Christmas.
News
Bathroom makeover gives new home for monster plant!
Thank you Sarah for gifting a home grown monster spider plant, given to MRT to make way for an extension and refurbishments in Stratford upon Avon.
This wonder house plant resides with a collection of succulents created for wellbeing in this bathroom makeover in the Cotswolds. The under-floor heated and porcelain tiled interior features a Mode free standing bath, wall hung toilet and bisque steel radiator next to an oak bookshelf and a Villeroy and Boch vanity unit.
This is a contemporary family bathroom design made to be warm, soft and special with the introduction of house plants. Thanks again Sarah.
Garage and Home Office gains planning and conservation approval in Stratford-upon-Avon
The extension is well designed and proportioned to reflect the basic symmetry and vernacular of the house whilst also being at a scale to be useful, without being overly large.
Two beautifully designed bespoke houses in Welford-on-Avon
Two beautifully designed bespoke houses by MRT Architects, and now it’s time for our clients to move on to pastures new!
Several years ago we were engaged by aspirational owners for a replacement dwelling in a large garden, within an orchard in the Conservation Area of Welford-on-Avon. It was built, and then we obtained planning permission to build a further house in the grounds, and they moved in!
Both houses are now sold and a new project beckons from further afield.
The house design is a vernacular composition of gables with stone and rendered facades, along with interesting glazing, all nicely articulated to fit comfortably on the plot surrounded by apple trees. Inside there is a galleried hall and an open plan kitchen, dining and family room vaulted to the underside of the glazed roof.
It has been a great project for MRT to design two individual houses for the same client and builder. Most enjoyable!
Stunning Cotswold Farmhouse
In the early seventies an entrepreneur developer bought a small farm on the edge of a hill, with amazing views down and across a stone-built village and out into rolling Cotswolds countryside. There was a bungalow, a small brick farmhouse and a stone barn with some stables. Our client shared the land with a friend and set MRT Architects the task to build two new separate houses on distinct parts of the land. The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sets significant constraints which required a very considered design approach, both with planning officers and the local Parish Council.
South Hills Farm was the inspiration for the replacement farmhouse, creating a new imposing Cotswold stone but subtly designed house expressly in the Cotswold style. The house looks above ground to be two storey, but above are two bedroom suites in an expansive attic served by a stairway under a lightwell. Below is a substantial basement which adjoins a new single storey extension which stretches, submerged below ground out to the adjacent stone barn. In this link is an amazing swimming pool with bifold doors overlooking a courtyard and outdoor kitchen which progresses up to a contemporary garden with those views! There is a surprise too as a spiral staircase pops up into the old barn, which has been completely transformed incorporating many architectural historical features into a self-contained annex, with kitchen dining, two storey sitting room and two bedroom suites.
Both the barn and the Cotswold farmhouse have oak and glass timber framed sunroom living spaces, which jut forward onto the edge of the escarpment with that panoramic vista. The house itself has a deep plan, cleverly disguised by multi gables at the rear which allow for a galleried atrium hall, open to above and below, with a crafted curved staircase. In addition to a formal dining room and sitting room, there are kitchens and family rooms. Downstairs is a cinema and wine room with a gym in the basement linked to the pool via a glazed screen and door for a visual connection. Upstairs there are bedrooms, ensuite bathrooms, a study and a laundry room.
This was a really interesting project which pushed the constraints of the protected landscape to the limit of acceptability with a carefully considered planning strategy and excellent presentation of the creative ideas.
The new house fits very comfortably into its surroundings, blending seamlessly with the outstanding natural beauty of the Cotswolds.