Hastings House is a careful and imaginative extension of a Victorian villa on a steeply sloping site. Designed with Hugh Strange Architects, the project reconfigures the house and its surroundings through a series of new timber pavilions arranged around restored garden terraces. The design strengthens the relationship between inside and out, creating a more coherent and practical sequence of spaces for modern life.
Working with the landscape
The project retains much of the garden’s original structure while introducing new elements that respond to the site’s topography. Repair and retention were central to the approach: the existing terraced garden, once in poor condition, was stabilised and strengthened. Anchoring and reinforcing the ad-hoc concrete avoided the need for new retaining walls, achieving significant savings in embodied carbon and preserving the hillside setting.
Structure and context
Alterations to the Victorian villa were carefully handled. Openings in the rear wall were enlarged to create new connections while retaining the solidity of the original structure. The new gallery space sits alongside the existing building, with timber-framed extensions constructed from laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Here, the LVL serves as both structure and surface – columns, beams, and linings all part of one system.
Externally, galvanised steel hoods and green roofs complement the timber, forming a restrained material palette of wood, steel, and concrete. Each material is expressed clearly and works in dialogue with the others, both structurally and visually.
Rather than relying on metal plates and screws, alongside the architect, we developed junctions more rooted in traditional detailing: where a post supports a beam, which in turn carries or is notched by another. Connections were formed using traditional timber joinery, allowing loads to transfer through the geometry of the structure itself. It’s a direct, expressive method that celebrates craftsmanship and supports a sustainable approach to construction.
Sustainable renewal
The original Victorian house was upgraded with improved glazing, added insulation, and an air-source heat pump. A poorly built 1980s extension was replaced with a new, well-insulated structure that encourages cross ventilation and brings daylight deep into the plan. All new construction uses engineered timber, chosen for its light weight, high strength, and low carbon impact. Green roofs across the pavilions support biodiversity and help manage rainwater on the hillside site.
“The whole project is predicated on the repair of the existing concrete terraced garden. Previously in very poor condition, the careful anchoring, reinforcing and patching of the undesigned and ad-hoc existing concrete avoided the need for demolition and new retaining walls, with significant savings in embodied carbon.”
Andy Toohey, Partner, Price & Myers
