Wye House

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Wye House is a refined country house located in Gloucestershire, within the heart of the Wye Valley, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The building has evolved over centuries, expanding from an elegantly understated Georgian residence to a grander home in the Victorian era. Hall + Bednarczyk’s client brief sought to add a generous new pool house, gym and spa.

The design introduces this relatively large addition in a discreet manner, with a low-profile pavilion building placed at the rear of Wye House, screened behind a stone garden wall. The repurposed masonry is upgraded to form a highly insulated building envelope which is extended to form a comfortable link leading directly to the original house. In the process, the newly formed arrival courtyard accommodates household vehicles in a convenient but unobtrusive location close to the entrance.

The new 250m2 pool pavilion celebrates its Wye Valley location by enclosing the space in a delicate structure which maximises views of the surrounding woodland. Two shallow-pitched roof planes are supported by laminated timber trusses vaulting diagonally from slender steel columns. A glazed central spine throws a shaft of natural light onto the ink-blue surface of the 15m long pool which is lined in slate tiles.

Internally, the timber roof structure glows from the light provided by a glass perimeter, while externally, the pavilion roof hovers on a band of clerestory glazing set above a sandstone wall. The design of the swimming pool establishes a sense of sanctuary, underscored by the proximity of protected ancient woodland which is viewed at the rear of the pavilion through a wall of glass, where sliding panels allow direct access to this verdant scene.