The Fold_

The Fold reworks an existing house between Bawtry and Tickhill, near Doncaster. The ambition was not to replace what stood there, but to give it a new architectural identity. Internal remodelling, new openings and a completely different material palette offered the opportunity to make the house lighter, sharper and more connected to its rural setting. Familiar bones. New character.

On the edge of a conservation area, the existing pitched forms provided a strong framework. Their scale and silhouette already belonged to the landscape, so the architecture could focus elsewhere. Proportion. Depth. Material. Light. The challenge was to make the house distinctly contemporary without losing the simplicity of the original form.

The gables remain, but their expression changes completely. Timber wraps the solid volumes, bringing warmth and texture against large areas of glass. Translucent polycarbonate cuts through the heavier surfaces, filtering daylight into the house and giving selected elevations an almost weightless quality. Deep reveals sharpen the openings and create shadow across the façade. Solid meets translucent. Timber meets light.

The result is simple in form but rich in material. Timber gives the house depth and warmth; polycarbonate softens the architecture and changes with the daylight. At dusk, translucent sections begin to glow, turning solid elevations into illuminated surfaces. Generous glazing opens the remodelled interior towards the surrounding landscape, while the familiar gabled silhouette keeps the house grounded between Bawtry and Tickhill. Rural Doncaster outside. Something altogether more unexpected within.