Rea Bridge House

Role: SuDS and Wetland Design

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Client: Simon Aldridge

Blue Green Studio were contracted to help with the discharge of planning conditions for this exceptionally beautiful proposed private dwelling. 

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Typically, planning policy avoids the development of isolated homes in rural areas, but exceptions are made, and these are called 'Paragraph 80' developments. To qualify for Paragraph 80, design needs to be of exceptional quality, in that it:
- is truly outstanding, reflecting the highest standards in architecture, and would help to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas; and
- would significantly enhance its immediate setting, and be sensitive to the defining characteristics of the local area.

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Working closely with Architects from Johnson Design Partnership, and Landscape Architects PLAN, Blue Green Studio developed designs and a surface water strategy from initial landscape concepts. 

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The proposed dwelling sits over the Rea Brook, in a design that 'disaggregated the volume of the house into a number of linked smaller parts, of a simple geometry which referred to agricultural vernacular forms'.

This made for a challenging context in terms of surface water design. Rainchains, raised ponds, extended infiltration meadows, and select soakaway areas (where the broad clay soils were interrupted by gravel and sand lenses) were designed to celebrate the rainfall, and create a biodiverse landscape in keeping with the river's character.

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