British studio Ström Architects has completed a minimalist home in Cheltenham, UK, which references modernist Case Study Houses in California.
Aptly named Case House, it is defined by pared-back finishes and forms, and layers of walls and gardens that buffer its light, airy interiors from the adjacent busy road.
The client presented Ström Architects with a series of visual references for the project, which included the minimalist architecture of British architect John Pawson and sleek Case Study Houses – a series of experimental dwellings built between 1945 and 1966 in southern California.
In response, the studio created a deliberately simple and minimalist home that contrasts with its typically suburban setting.
“[The clients] were struck by the idea of editing spaces to their essentials, and were interested in exploring how this process of architectural editing could then impact on the way they would inhabit the house – in a sense curating a way of living exemplified by the Case Study Houses,” said Ström Architects founder Magnus Ström.
“There is also a pleasing contrast between the setting – just off a busy road in a town centre – with the almost monastic feel of the house,” he told Dezeen.
Located on a narrow rectilinear site, Case House is split into two blocks that are offset to create garden spaces to the east and west. A separate annexe and covered parking space are positioned at the rear.
A slatted timber screen and narrow water pool create a barrier between the street and entrance, which leads directly into a garden and a block containing three bedrooms, a bathroom and a study.
Moving through the entrance garden leads to the central living, kitchen and dining area, where large sliding glass doors open out onto a rear courtyard that wraps around the home’s western edge.
Paved pathways connect either end of the site and are sheltered by overhanging sections of Case House’s large flat roof.
Glossy concrete floors, white brickwork and white-painted carpentry define the stark interiors and are continued into the rear garden to create a sense of continuity between inside and outside.
“[The rear garden] is conceived as an outdoor room,” said Ström. “We worked with the client to develop a minimalist garden space which shares the same material palette as the living room, resulting in a seamless flow from inside to outside.”
Ström Architects was founded by Ström in 2010 and the studio’s projects often take a highly minimalist approach to design.
Its previous projects include a modern extension to a traditional home in Surrey and a black-timber holiday home in the Isle of Wight.
The photography is by Richard Chivers.
