Contemporary, open-plan, visual concrete and timber home in woodland surroundings

Seamans Building is delighted to have delivered Coille Beag – a modern, four-bedroom detached house in the Cambridgeshire countryside.

Nestled in a small patch of woodland, the client wanted a low maintenance, easily accessible home for their retirement.

Additionally, they desired a strong physical and visual contrast between their new home’s incredible natural surroundings in Whittlesford and the setting of their original home.

Work on the building, designed by Snell David Architects, started in April 2018 and completed in October 2019.

Cast insitu concrete is used to create the open-plan, ground floor structure, including the home’s master bedroom suite.

Despite the woodland surroundings, the building boasts optimal views and natural light. This is thanks to the placement of the wings, which follow a path around the existing trees.

The impressive building is finished with stylish, vertical ribbed boards, and large glazed sliding Schuco aluminium doors and windows.

The finish is further enhanced by the use of hardwood joinery for the staircases, doors and bespoke fittings. Therefore, enhancing the strong contrast against the visual concrete.

In addition, the property consists of a high-quality fitted kitchen by David Hall Furniture, sanitaryware and floor finishes. So, the indoor spaces is a special as the exterior.

And the project is set to become even more special as time goes by. The architects envision the surrounding woodland growing up around the new building, bringing the house and nature even closer together.

Following the completion of the project, the client said: “We are delighted with the finished product and also the workmanship of all the various trades that Seamans employed.

“I would recommend Seamans to you without hesitation.”

Ben Whatling, Production Director at Seamans Building, added: “This was a challenging project where the client placed a great emphasis on quality of the finished product; the margin for error when working to such a bespoke design in visual concrete and the success with the interaction of other building elements is a credit to all those involved.

“We hope the client enjoys their new home as much as we did building it.”

Photography credits: David Valinsky.