Our solution was to knock down the existing house and replace it with a design which spanned the length of the site and rose in a series of steps up the site. This allowed us to create rooms of varying scale, shape, character and outlook, providing a welcome combination of open plan living with the option of a cosy room, open fire and a fantastic view over Cheltenham on a winter’s day. This layout in turn defined several external spaces for the family to enjoy in privacy. The kitchen, dining room, sitting room and drawing room are arranged around an external courtyard, with large sliding and bi-fold door screens to allow free flow into this sheltered outside space.

A central stone wall runs through the property and anchors the building to the site, sometimes forming the external wall but also moving through the interior forming a natural divide between the open plan areas and more private spaces. Its colour and texture bring a warmth and softness to the property, both inside and out. Meadow flower green roofs further blend the property into the landscape and provide an attractive and changing outlook when viewed from the levels above or from neighbouring properties further up the hill.

We developed a range of different ways to highlight the building’s incredible views from lots of different perspectives. The library window provides a framed view over the town, while other rooms have large, full-height glazed screens that offer a panoramic outlook, or glimpsed views through slot windows that separate the defining central stone wall from the spaces that sit to either side of it.