The Old Vicarage office, Alvediston

The new office is separate from the Victorian house a few yards from it, and on a slight rise. References to it as a ‘folly’ captured what had clearly been a prime consideration in the project, the creation of a building with a practical purpose, but which also added something slightly playful to the landscape. This is the essence of the gothick style chosen for the office, the ‘k’ indicating something not too serious, and at variance with the gothic revival buildings so familiar to us from Victorian churches. Its siting makes the office building particularly effective, and its design certainly makes it fit the part, the judges’ only reservation being that some choices of material slightly let it down, particularly the use of artificial stone for the windows. Generally, though, a lot of thought has gone into it, with an attention to detail typified by the mirror set into an archway in a surrounding wall at the rear. This has the effect of opening up what would be a fairly dead corner, drawing on reflections of the encircling wall, and of the garden beyond the folly, a neat way of doubling up the effect of existing features without having to replicate them. The interior creates an office space which many would envy, making excellent use of views out over a particularly attractive part of Wiltshire. It was clear to the judges that an award was an appropriate response to the building.

Designers: TFH Reeve

Photo: TFH Reeve