Pivot House, Reymerston, Norwich

With a verdant and wooded backdrop, this impressive five-bedroom house in Reymerston, Norfolk is set within nine idyllic acres of private grounds. It was recently completed to a design by London-based architects Studio Bark and has around 2,865 sq ft of flowing, mostly lateral, space. Pivot House combines architectural merit with an-off grid sustainable approach, biophilic design, garaging and a plan that interacts beautifully with its outside space. It sits around 20 miles from both Norwich and Thetford, where rail services run to London Liverpool Street and Kings’ Cross respectively.

The Architect

Award-winning Studio Bark is a forward thinking, science-lead practice with ambitious designs driving forward sustainable technologies and conversations. Their focus delivers intelligently considered architecture, in a viable, accessible and equitable way. From designing enduring country homes to building modular construction systems, such as U-Build, their buildings derive from a profound, intuitive and clear understanding of space, materials and innovative construction methods.

Environmental Performance

Pivot House was conceived with off-grid self-sufficiency in mind; as a result, it has an EPC ‘A’ rating. Constructed with a heavily insulated timber framing system, using locally-sourced air-dried timber, it has excellent airtightness, underfloor heating and triple-glazed doors and windows throughout. There is a biomass boiler heating a large buffer tank and an array of photovoltaic panels, mounted on the garage roof, charging three storage batteries, providing all the power to the house. The water supply is private and self-sufficient - care of an on-site borehole, drilled especially for this house – and there is an on-site drainage system.

The exemplary eco-credentials extend into the garden, conceived to enhance the natural biodiversity of the environment.

The Tour

Pivot House occupies an incredibly private and bucolic position, surrounded by rolling Norfolk countryside and ancient woodland. Harnessing a previously unloved and neglected site into a park-like setting, the design achieved a rare permission for its forward-thinking high-quality design.

A quiet country road approach gives way to a gated driveway that culiminates in a parking area with a garage, workshop and further space for several cars.

Lowered into the landscape, Pivot House is well and truly rooted into its natural setting. Taking inspiration from the random nature of tree growth, the building's profile is dominated by flint-filled gabions and greying oak cladding, which rises with a series of wave-like monopitched sedum roofs. From here, a parabolic umbrella of beams flies from a central interconnecting glazed courtyard spine, with a series of rooms encircling it.

These internal spaces have a calming and contemporary appeal with a restrained and simple material palette of smooth plastered walls, wood/tiled flooring and swathes of glazing that floods the house with light.

Pivot House's primary entrance is on the westerly front and is flanked by the kitchen to its south and ancillary boot room, WC and study to the north. Beyond is an inner arterial corridor skirting the central courtyard and linking the rest of the house. A spacious dining space sits at one end of the kitchen, and links to the main reception room that sits at a slightly lower level.

The gallery-like hallway grants passage to five double bedrooms - two ensuite, and one with a dressing room and access to a private east-facing terrace with far-reaching vistas – and a family bathroom.

Outdoor Space

Extending across around nine acres of open land, Pivot House is bordered by hedgerows and mature broad-leafed trees, thinned to enhance glimpsed views across adjacent farmland and towards the River Blackwater that skirts the home’s southerly edge. The house is designed to interact with its grounds and natural setting at every turn, with terraces spilling onto the gently rolling verdant banks.

The plot's exemplary eco-credentials and biodiversity is augmented through an ambitious and varied planting layout. An treed avenue lines the driveway, while a newly planted orchard, a mix of plums, cherries, apples and pears, lies behind wildflower leas. These provide additional habitats for the local multifarious animals and insects, while supporting the area’s rich wildlife and encourage local and migratory species of birds. Acres of grassy slopes fall gently towards the river’s banks where there are woods and reed planting.

At the front of the house is a large double garage with a workshop space; the house's plant room and large wood store adjoin.

The Area

The rural hamlets of Reymerston and Southburgh are nearby the house, while the beautiful Georgian market town of Hingham lies around three miles south. As well as providing handy everyday facilities it has a post office, bakery, butcher and friendly pub, The White Hart. The market town of Attleborough, around 15 miles south, has a range of amenities, including four schools, a town hall, shops, cafés, bars and restaurants.

Barnham Broom is a popular local hotel and country club, with golf, swimming and spa on offer. Set within a beautifully restored 16th-century barn, The Painted Barn Café, also located in Barnham Broom, is a great spot for fine teas, coffees and home baked sausage rolls and cakes, as well as running yoga and pilates studios.

Glorious Thetford Forest lies close by. It has numerous trails and cycle routes and is even home to an outpost of Go Ape. The Pingos, Cranberry Rough, Thompson Water and Lynford Arboretum are alternative options for an outdoorsy day out nearby. Slightly further afield are The Suffolk Wildlife Reserves at Knettishall Heath, Redgrave and Lopham Fen and Carleton Marshes.

Idyllically rural, the location is populated with farm shops and sweet cafés, including the much-loved Elveden Courtyard, which is just 30 minutes away from the house by car. Stocked with excellent local produce, it also has a terrific butchers, as well as a restaurant dishing up tasty local fare.

Despite its bucolic location, the area has great transport links. Norwich can be reached in around 30 minutes, Cambridge in around an hour and a quarter and the North Norfolk coast is around 30 miles north. Rail services run to London with a change at Cambridge from Thetford station, around 25 minutes from the house, or from Norwich, with the city reached in under two hours.

Council Tax Band: G