The Hind House by John Pardey Architects
John Pardey Architects have won an award for architectural excellence in the 2009 RIBA Awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects, for their work on the Hind house.
From the architects:
This house sits on the banks of the river Loddon, near Wargrave. We based our concept on three elements; living, guest and bedroom spaces, to create ‘wings’ that adopt a pinwheel form, raised up on columns to deal with flooding from the river. A dark, zinc-clad wing is pushed forward to receive an entrance staircase that slices up into an open timber lined hood, with a glazed room to the side containing a guest suite and gym. The stair arrives onto a balcony and entrance – a central hall space – this is the day room, dedicated to outdoor living that leads out onto a large deck. Following the zig-zag of the pinwheel, a staircase then leads down to a garden deck, with boardwalk that arrives at a landing stage on the river’s edge. The house is steel framed, with timber stud infill; cedar and zinc-clad, with aluminium framed windows and single-ply roofing.
Visit the website of John Pardey Architects – here.
Jimonesco on 27 May 2009 at 9:31 am #
i don’t understand. Can you go inside the house without having to dip in the brown water ?
Derek on 27 May 2009 at 9:55 am #
Am I the only one confused.
Is the water level constantly that high? The only way to get to the house is to walk there through a swamp?
BRILLIANT.
Milen on 27 May 2009 at 11:54 am #
OK! Looks nice, well designed, but how on earth (mostly on water) do they get in? Did the use a boat, or something else? another concern are the mosquitoes! How will the deal with them? I suppose there will be smell too – from the swamp!
My opinion is that it looks nice house, but I prefer it on ground, not in water!
Tiffany on 27 May 2009 at 12:13 pm #
From the description, there is a “boardwalk that arrives at a landing stage on the river’s edge.”
cmac on 27 May 2009 at 12:15 pm #
i’m confused too. do you boat to the entrance? park the boat under the house?
Scott Lee on 27 May 2009 at 12:57 pm #
The house is next to a river that sometimes floods the surrounding area. I think they chose to take photos of the house when the flooding was happening because it was extra dramatic. I think there’s usually grass there.
Lindsay on 27 May 2009 at 3:40 pm #
It does have a sort of accidental look to it, as if it’s been brought from dry and and plonked into a flood. I’m sure the entrance is on the side or back, and those steps are for… swimming? Dropping off boat passengers? The siding is very pretty, but there’s something viscerally disturbing about a house that blocks the entire span of a river… you almost want a huge tidal bore to surge in and take its hubris away.
j_dubble_u on 27 May 2009 at 5:45 pm #
as Scott Lee said, I think its to show the effectiveness of the design – regularly flooded area + raised structure = undamaged home
fredrik on 27 May 2009 at 7:00 pm #
weird spot. cool house.
Olivia on 27 May 2009 at 9:41 pm #
i adore this. and i’m assuming that those steps are just a water access and the actual entrance is in the wing nearest the bank? either way its beautiful
E_dy on 28 May 2009 at 2:18 am #
Go check the architects website: The steps lead to the garden and a sort of wooden terrace. The first picture is taken from the side of the river which runs perpendicular to the site. So normally dryland all around and a river up front.
Matt on 28 May 2009 at 8:02 am #
Also we don’t get mosquitoes in England
Connie on 28 May 2009 at 11:21 am #
This is what Ludwig Mies van der Rohe envisioned when he designed Farnsworth House. Only that the Fox River periodically gets too high and floods the house. Hope this never happens to the Hind residence.
kast on 28 May 2009 at 8:18 pm #
LOOK AT THE TREEAND THE ROCK ,ITS BEEN FLOODED BY WATER AND FOR SURE THEY TAKE THIS SNAP ON THE FLOODED TIME…IM SURE THE GROUND FLOOR IS USED FOR PARKING , THEN BEEN FLOODED BY WATER..
Rudy on 29 May 2009 at 12:35 am #
If you can enjoy a periodical flooding from an elevated dwelling you will start looking forward to the natural phenomenon. Suddenly you live in a completely different world. Look at the awesome pictures!
Twentyfive years ago I experienced a flood and remember it as exciting and wonderful. The water stopped within an inch to our doorstep and our house became an island.
jim on 02 Jun 2009 at 6:21 am #
http://www.johnpardeyarchitects.com/index.php?page=311
Gary Henry on 03 Jun 2009 at 9:59 am #
Nice design for New Orleans.
M Morse on 04 Jun 2009 at 11:36 am #
Nicely sited work. The work of nature does wonders for this building.
Rome Shaymil on 05 Jun 2009 at 7:25 pm #
Looks like Aqua Man’s weekend get-away~! Awesome for a jet-ski!
Chris on 09 Jun 2009 at 5:31 am #
No Mosquitos in England? Where? I lived in Thamesmead, there wasn’t a summer night without a bite. Docklands was a bit better but around the Thames, you can’t escape.
blowback on 11 Jun 2009 at 4:56 am #
If you look at the deciduous trees you will see that they are all almost leafless – these photos were taken in the winter so there would be no problem with mosquitos. By spring, the flooding, caused by heavy winter rains, would have disappeared and there would be little standing water so should be few problems with mosquitos.