Serriform House

Location: Burscough, Lancashire

Project: New Build

Notes: Challenging brief, complex site

A Unique Solution for a Dual Aspect Site.

Located in the Greenbelt near Burscough, Lancashire, Serriform House presented a challenge for a client with specific requirements. Our brief was to create a contemporary new build barn with two aspects to consider. To the north, a busy rural road and a potential future development site to be mitigated, and to the south, a wide expanse of countryside with uninterrupted views to be embraced. Our innovative approach was to create layers of protection from north to south, with road noise addressed through both the plan and the building fabric, and all primary rooms buffered from this and facing the views and natural light of the south.

A saw tooth, or serriform, arrangement to the northern elevation provides acoustic mass, and the stepping accommodates west-facing windows, flooding the rooms with light and directing views away from the road. Not only practical, but the form also produces a beautiful play of light and shadow on the stunning limestone walls. Beyond this elevation are all the secondary spaces, further protecting the primary rooms from road noise. Linear circulation spaces to both floors are connected to each other vertically through a series of voids created by the stepping of the elevation. An otherwise corridor-like space instead takes on an ethereal quality with ever-moving slats of light permeating the double height windows. To the south the building really opens up, with large windows providing panoramic views of the countryside, further enjoyed with first floor terraces and Juliette balconies.