Two miles from the coast in the southern English county of Suffolk, the 2.5 hectare site is located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and surrounded by farmland.
British studio Ström Architects designed the house to be built over foundations of a previous structure that burnt down, beside an existing outdoor pool.
It will be orientated at an angle to the ruins, to make a clear distinction between the two and to face the best views.
“The building is set like this so that it can be read on its own and thus touch the existing site lightly,” said the architects.
Flooding is prevalent in the area so the home will be raised 1.5 metres off the ground, with a ramped walkway following the geometry of the old building connecting it to the garden.
The design is long and thin to reference the local vernacular, with glazing along most of the west elevation. Dark wood panels will cover rest of this facade, while Corten steel is to clad the other three sides.
All the rooms are on the ground floor apart from the master bedroom and bathroom, which will fit into the small volume on the roof. Construction is due to start later this year.
The site is located in Suffolk two miles inland the coast, and lies within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site itself forms part of an overall land ownership of 2.5 hectares surrounded by agricultural land.
The current site has foundations, ruins and some low walls from a house that burned down eight years ago; there is also an existing outdoor pool. Immediately to the west of the pool and ruins, there is a small area of open grass that runs up to the edge of a beautiful copse of mature oak trees. The site is located on the edge of flood zone two and three, and requires a raised floor level 1.5 metres above the old cottage.
The clients’ brief was for a country house – ‘a dream in a wood’, a peaceful place to relax, regenerate, and think of new ideas. The existing site with the pool, ruins and low walls has a very strong presence, and we wanted to keep this as an important part of the site. The design is linear and has picked up on the building form – the ‘long cottage’ found in the locality, and we see the design as an evolution of the longitudinal cottage.
The building sits above the ruins and the edge of the pool, as to respect the current site, but also to deal with the raised floor level that is required, due to the potential flood risk. The building is also set like this so that it can be read on its own, and thus touch the existing site lightly. The building is orientated towards the west-south-west, and sits on an angle above the existing ruins facing the best views as well as creating a clear juxtaposition of geometry to the ruins.
A two-storey element punctures through the roof, and contains a master bedroom suite at the first floor. This is positioned towards the existing coach house, thus minimising the impact of the building on the more open site to the south. This two storey element is recessed from both the west and east facades as to reduce the scale and the appearance of the building.
The building is entered via a bridge that spans from higher ground and above the ruins. This sets up the whole philosophy of the house, even before you actually enter, as well as successfully dealing with safe egress form the house to higher land in case of a flood.
Here’s another small-scale project featuring strikingly realistic renderings – this time a timber-clad home in England by Ström Architects, who claim that investing in quality CGI is “more effective than advertising” (+ slideshow + interview).
Sited on the edge of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, Woodpeckers is designed by Ström Architects as a two-storey holiday house with a glazed conservatory and a raised terrace wrapping the south and east elevations.
The structure of the house will comprise a prefabricated timber frame, allowing for a quick construction, while the dimensions have been generated using standard truss components that will help keep the project within budget.
Larch cladding panels will in time give a silvery grey colour to the external walls, plus a bulky brick chimney will create both indoor and outdoor fireplaces.
Architect Magnus Ström commissioned architect and visualiser Henry Goss to create the hyper-realistic renderings, which he also uses as a marketing tool to promote his three-year-old practice.
“It takes three years from inception to completion for a project, but I needed to have these projects on my website sooner and of a quality good enough for publication,” he told Dezeen.
Explaining how he found investment in advertising to be a waste of time, Ström said that presenting high-quality imagery has helped him to win work, earn press coverage and get projects approved for construction.
“Renders definitely help to convey a feeling of what you are trying to achieve. They also help to demonstrate top design quality,” he said.
He added: “I can say with confidence that current projects as well as numerous enquiries, even from abroad, have been linked to high-end visualisations.”
Amy Frearson: Why do you choose to invest in such highly detailed visualisations?
Magnus Ström: As a new practice, it has been very important to build up a portfolio of work, as as you have to be patient in architecture and I am not. It takes three years from inception to completion for a project, but I needed to have these projects on my website sooner and of a quality good enough for publication.
AF: How did you get started?
MS: When I first set up, I invested in some advertising, and this resulted in absolutely nothing. I then discovered Peter Guthrie, whose renders were the best I had ever seen. I immediately called him and said I wanted to work with him, although I at this stage didn’t have a project! As soon as I had a suitable project, I decided to smash my marketing budget and get him to render my project, which was a private house in Suffolk.
AF: What kind of press response did you have to those images?
MS: It immediately got loads of attention and was featured on several websites and magazines as far away as Australia. This played a big part in me being selected as the UK representative for Wallpapers Emerging Architects 2012, which in turn directly led to the commission of Woodpeckers. I have had an enormous amount of press interest in the project, although many have shied away when they realised it wasn’t built.
AF: Were there any negatives?
MS: The downside is that you show a finished project, which can put you in a difficult situation if [the press] doesn’t like it. However this hasn’t happened for me yet, and hopefully, as your clients select you in the first place, they will like what you do for them.
AF: Do you use the renderings as a design tool or just to present a resolved idea?
MS: I do build SketchUp models of all my projects – in particular to communicate with clients – but renders definitely help to convey a feeling of what you are trying to achieve. They also help to demonstrate top design quality. Since I set up my practice, I have been lucky to get 100% of planning applications approved. I think at times, particularly in sensitive areas, the images have helped to demonstrate the quality aimed for in the design and has successfully helped the planning application.
AF: Would you recommend the approach to other architects starting out?
MS: Overall, I think high quality renders have managed to promote my practice in a way that previously wouldn’t have been possible. This of course needs to be coupled with an on-line presence, whether through Facebook, Twitter, BEhance, Architizer or similar. So I can say with confidence that current projects as well as numerous enquiries, even from abroad, have been linked to high-end visualisations.
Read on for a project description from the architect:
Woodpeckers, New Forest, UK
“Woodpeckers” is a replacement house on a rural site on the edge of the New Forest National Park.
The design for the house, which is to be used mainly as holiday home, is constrained by planning issues that to some extent dictated the built footprint and its position on the site. Very tight size restrictions forced the design to push windows to the outside of the envelope, not allowing any overhangs which would be included in an area calculation, therefore reducing the actual built area. However, within the allowable area, there are provisions for inclusion of a conservatory, and one challenge was how to successfully integrate this with architecture devoid of the normal connotations of a lean-to structure.
The very simple building is also driven by economics of construction. The superstructure is a simple timber frame structure that will be pre-fabricated allowing a short erection time on site. Spans as well as the width of the house are decided by the performance restrictions of standard timber truss components. Fenestration is generated by floor to ceiling gaps in the timber façade.
The house sits on a platform that will create a terrace to the south and the east. This platform connects with a masonry chimney breast that provides both internal and external fireplaces. The platform, being raised slightly off the ground, allows a level connection between inside and outside terraces as well as raises the house off the ground, which in the winter months can be quite wet.
Interview: following the popularity of the hyper-realistic computer renderings of Staithe End house that we published earlier in the month, Henry Goss, the architect and visualiser who produced the renders, talks to Dezeen about how 3D visualisations are becoming indistinguishable from real photographs.
Goss set up architectural visualisation company Goss Visualisations in 2012, having started up his own architectural practice the previous year. In the interview, he reveals that he owes his visualisation style to well-known visualiser Peter Guthrie.
“I got into visualisation because of Peter,” Goss says. “Peter pretty much taught me everything I know in 3D Studio Max.”
He adds that knowing Guthrie was one of the reasons he decided to set up his own company: “I knew how much Peter was paid for his renders.”
Goss goes on to describe how he creates his renders, pointing out that he is unusual in the field because he starts out with Sketch Up. “It’s seen as a free bit of Mickey Mouse software,” he says. “But in actual fact, it’s really good.”
Farthings house render
Goss says that 3D renders are already almost indistinguishable from photographs, but are being taken to the next level by “the addition of real world imperfections. Scratches in metal, splinters and chips in timber boards, even fingerprints.”
However, Goss warns that rendered images can sometimes surpass the photographs of a building once it is completed. “There’s always a danger that the client will come along at the end and stick in a whole bunch of crap furniture,” he says. “Then the photographs of the building aren’t as good as the render and everyone calls you out on it.”
Here is a full transcript of the interview:
Ross Bryant: How did you get into visualisation?
Henry Goss: When I’ve worked in various [architecture offices] in the past, I’ve always been the graphic person because I always had a good eye for graphics. In quite a lot of these offices there will always be someone who is better at rendering than others and they will become the render bitch – the go-to person. I kind of just enjoyed it as a hobby almost. Also [leading visualisation artist] Peter Guthrie is a friend of mine and I knew how much Peter was paid for his renders!
Farthings house render
Ross Bryant: People have compared your rendering style to Guthrie, as well as that of Bertrand Benoit.
Henry Goss: Peter Guthrie and Bertrand Benoit are friends of mine. I got into visualisation because of Peter. He used to be an architect and then went down the visualisation route. I set up my practice at the same time and I’ve learnt 3D through him. That’s why a lot of people have compared my style to Peter’s; Peter pretty much taught me everything I know in 3D Studio Max.
Ross Bryant: How would you describe your visualisation style? How does it differ from other styles?
Henry Goss: I would describe both Peter’s visualisation style, and by association mine, as photographic. I generally think of architectural visualisation in three categories, all three of which are necessary to achieve a high-end result:
1. A technical understanding of the software, this may be obvious but it is impossible to have proper control without having a fairly good knowledge of the tools you are using.
2. An understanding of architecture. An architectural visualiser who has no real appreciation of their subject matter will never grasp the subtleties of what they are attempting to recreate.
3. An understanding of architectural photography. This is often the most overlooked and potentially most important aspect of the three.
Farthings house render
Ross Bryant: What software do you use?
Henry Goss: Largely I use SketchUp for modelling, 3D Studio Max and V-ray for rendering and Photoshop and Light Room for post-production. I also use Peter’s HDRI Skies exclusively these days, along with most of the architectural visualisation industry. Obviously, to make the images work at this level, you have all sorts of plug-ins but that’s essentially it.
The workflow I use isn’t actually used that much in the visualisation world; there’s a certain snobbery in the visualisation world about SketchUp because it’s seen as a free bit of Mickey Mouse crap software that architects use because they are too stupid to use real 3D programmes. But in actual fact, it’s really good.
Staithe End House render
Ross Bryant: Did your visualisation skills help you when you set up your own practice?
Henry Goss: When I started getting better at it and I was going to set up my own practice, I was like: “Well shit, if I’m going to set up my own practice, I need this level of quality.” And also if you haven’t built a project, you need high-end visualisations to get you noticed in the industry because that’s what people expect these days.
Staithe End House
Ross Bryant: Do you present photorealistic renderings to your clients from the outset?
Henry Goss: Early on, you don’t want to tie your own mind or your client’s mind down to a specific photo-realistic space, you want it to be much more about the early architectural image and the evocation of space and the ethereal nature of light. Later on, when the photorealistic render comes in, it’s partly marketing and partly a fascination with the fact that we have the technology that can achieve this.
Staithe End House
Ross Bryant: Why go to so much trouble with the images?
Henry Goss: Two reasons: Firstly publicity. Being a relatively young architectural practice our built portfolio is relatively small. The second reason is that I’m secretly a bit of a geek and I simply enjoy it.
Ross Bryant: How long does each image take?
Henry Goss: It’s hard to say as the set up for each job is so different. A simple render with few materials may only take a few days to a week to produce several images. A render with full CG environment such as Staithe End including scatter objects, grass, trees, gravel and procedural textures can take significantly longer. Staithe End was developed gradually over a period of about three months.
Staithe End House
Ross Bryant: Why are there no people in the Staithe End renderings?
Henry Goss: There are two main ways of adding people to renders, either by rendering a 3D modelled person or by montage in post production. The human brain is highly tuned to pick up subtle nuances of human appearance and movement and therefore it’s very difficult to achieve a convincing result. I usually add people if the message trying to be conveyed is about use and lifestyle, but I feel that, as with a lot of architectural photography, sometimes the pure nature of the architecture itself is better represented laid bare.
Ross Bryant: How soon will visualisations be indistinguishable from real photos? Or have we already reached that point?
Henry Goss: I think the likes of Peter Guthrie and Bertrand Benoit are pretty much there already, obviously it depends on the resolution of the image/photo. The thing that’s currently taking photorealism in architectural visualisation to the next level, most strikingly exemplified by the work of Bertrand Benoit, is the addition of real-world imperfections. Scratches in metal, splinters and chips in timber boards, even fingerprints.
Lode House render
Ross Bryant: Do photorealistic visualisations – and the way they are published on the internet – change the way people perceive architecture?
Henry Goss: I’m sure they do change people’s perception and I suspect for the architectural purist it’s a negative thing. Architecture as fashion and commodity has been widely discussed and the rendered image has been lambasted for perpetuating the notion of style over substance and image over experience. I even sometimes get people, possibly being tongue-in-cheek, saying, “you don’t need to go though the hassle of building that, you’ve got the pictures already.” It’s a difficult one as even though I like to think I interrogate architecture, I still regularly find myself flicking through a journal or website and only stopping when I’m seduced by an easily accessible sexy-looking image.
Ross Bryant: Can renderings look better than the finished building?
Henry Goss: The danger is that the client comes along at the end of it, sticks in a whole bunch of crap furniture and then the photographs of the building aren’t as good as the render and everyone calls you out on it.
Staithe End House
Ross Bryant: Why don’t the big architecture firms use photorealistic renderings to illustrate major proposals?
Henry Goss: The big companies are aspiring to a different artistic level, a different kind of integrity and so they don’t need the top end visualisations to convey their message. Any architectural image is essentially about conveying a message and in the architectural sketch you might be conveying the essence of a scheme in the simplest possible way.
I’m doing some renders at the moment for an office space and it’s essentially a developer who wants a wide-angled perspective so that they can say that’s where you sit and have your coffee, that’s where the sun comes in and there’s the strategically placed child with an obligatory balloon. But that’s the shot that shows everything, it shows the fact of what the space is, but it doesn’t necessarily show what it feels like. The high-end renders don’t necessarily show everything but they’re more evocative. You’re cropping down and trying to capture the essence of the space.
Ross Bryant: Where is architectural visualisation heading next?
Henry Goss: I see the whole industry heading in the direction where you have a single [digital] model [of a building]. This happens in a lot of the big commercial practices. They have a single model, which not only has all the architectural components, building services components and the structure and coordination of all things, but it’s also testing lighting levels and testing environmental factors.
Computer-aided design has now reached a level where it’s all becoming very integrated. The visualisation isn’t purely visualisation anymore – you can actually use the same [digital] models with the same lighting rigs to test real-life environments and real-life situations. I use it to a small degree but people take it to a greater degree where they are really testing the actual lux levels in a space on a full environmental model.
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