Court House, Bulford   

  ourt House has an expansive site on the edge of Bulford, previously housing tennis courts, and makes good use of it. Its public face is a single storey barn type structure alongside the road, through which is accessed the two storey house beyond. That the central opening in the barn building does not currently lead to the house as it might suggest, leaving the actual route slightly circuitous, is understandable in present circumstances, and creates the potential for such an entrance in the future. The house picks up on the vertical timber boarding of the barn, allying it with a pleasant red brick limited to the ground floor, except where a bold chimney stack punctuates the end elevation away from the road. On the south side a full length canopy adds its own accent to the outside, while providing screening from the summer sun. The judges felt the interiors were nicely conceived and well executed, based on a well thought out plan and avoiding any attempts at showiness. They range from a high ceilinged kitchen in the barn part, to varied upstairs spaces in the two storeyed part. Air source heat pumps, triple glazing and photovoltaic panels put the house into the high sustainability bracket, while the large garden clearly creates scope for further development of the landscape treatment. Undramatic, but carefully  thought through and executed, the house was one which the judges had little difficulty in assessing as meeting award standard.

Architects: Barefoot Architects

Photo: Rebecca Noakes