CLEAVE house

​Location:
TEESDALE

​Site Area / House:
4,050m² / 340m²

Year:
2024

Builder:
CRCM Building Group 

Project Brief:
​​Shaped by light, distance and rural context, Cleave House explores a restrained architectural response to expansive living through a series of simple gabled forms arranged across an open landscape. The brief called for a contemporary rural home that balanced openness with shelter, prioritised northern light, and separated living and private zones without fragmenting the overall experience of the house. Set on a wide, wedge-shaped allotment in Teesdale, the project is positioned to engage long views across the expansive site while maintaining protection from prevailing weather and neighbouring development.

The plan is organised as a sequence of pavilions, reflecting the brief’s desire for clarity of function and legibility of form. Communal living spaces are oriented north and west, opening onto sheltered outdoor areas that extend daily occupation into the landscape, while bedrooms and private spaces are set apart to provide retreat and separation. Circulation is treated as a light-filled connective element rather than a residual corridor, reinforcing movement, outlook and continuity between zones.

The materially of the house draws from a restrained rural palette of timber cladding and corrugated metal, chosen to weather gracefully and sit comfortably within the landscape. Internally, warm timber, muted greens and stone-like surfaces establish a tactile, grounded atmosphere, balancing robustness with domestic comfort. Cleave House delivers a contemporary rural dwelling shaped by its brief, its setting and a deliberate preference for clarity, restraint and enduring spatial quality.