Forest Lodge, New Forest

PAD Studio’s brief for this stunning five acre plot in the New Forest was to create a very low energy dwelling, built to comply with the Caravan Act 1968, to be flooded with light and with a strong connection to its surrounding landscape. Crucially, and understandably since their clients had been living on the site in a static caravan for 15 years, the new dwelling was not to resemble or feel like a mobile home in any way.

Their approach was considered: spending time visiting the site at different times of the day in order to truly understand the changing light and views. And their solution is a building which both enhances its location and draws from it, inviting nature inside with large, carefully placed windows which focus and frame the views, displaying them internally like paintings on large canvases.

Inside, the material palette is restrained and natural, with oak, limestone and white panelled walls, being deliberately muted to provide a backdrop painted by the forest’s changing light and rendered by the color of the landscape beyond the building. From the beginning white wood was called for on both the floors and ceiling. Our first suggestion was Blanco, in 20mm and 12mm thickness respectively, and both the designers and their client liked the idea of using an identical finish for both areas. We also suggested an Osmo product to finish the ceiling recesses by the windows.

Essentially self-sufficient for power, water and sewage; solid, serene and very beautiful, this is a superb example of what can be achieved through patience, care and imagination. Who wouldn’t want to live there?