House in Epsom

The prospect of a site with views over Epsom Downs and within a commutable distance of Canary Wharf attracted this client to build a new house next to the RAC’s Woodcote Park golf course. Flanked by recently constructed Georgian-style houses, the new neighbour, designed by Eldridge London, is clearly a building of its time. The two wings of the house are set apart to optimise views and the path of the sun. One wing contains double height living spaces and bedrooms above and accommodation for children and staff below whilst the other wing contains a gymnasium and swimming pool which faces a sunken court space outside. The court in turn leads up to a large expanse of lawn that runs away to the boundary with the golf course beyond. As well as being radically modern in appearance the house incorporates the latest energy saving systems including solar heating and ground source heat pumps and is covered by a sedum roof. Any opposition to the project was dispelled by Epsom and Ewell Planners who declared in the planning report that Eldridge London’s house was “a potential listed building of the future “. The house was completed in January 2010 and the landscape, also designed by Eldridge London, was completed in April 2011. The project won a Royal Institute of British Architects Award in 2011.