Kent Forest Lodge

KENT

This WIP 3,339 sqft design is for an eco-friendly garden sanctuary, in the grounds of a large country house. The brief was to find low-tech and low-energy solutions, and preserve the peace of the surrounding landscape – an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The new walled garden will – in the great tradition of English country houses – provide a sheltered environment for horticulture, and small-holding fruit and vegetable production. A brick wall encloses the garden, which is arranged as a series of terraces set against the natural slope of the ground.

The lodge, a private retreat for visiting family and friends away from the main house, is split into two simple buildings, with a low linking block. There is a small, projecting glazed breakfast room beneath the canopy of a hornbeam tree. The north-easterly block contains bedrooms (conceived as ‘forest’, ‘garden’ and ‘earth’); the westerly block contains the spaces for entertaining.

Liddicoat & Goldhill worked alongside a team of specialist designers, arboriculturalist and ecological consultants to develop this project.