Stephenson Studio to replace castle-like home with castle-like home

Stephenson Studio has secured planning permission to demolish a 1930s hilltop house known as Oversley Castle and create a modern home also shaped like a castleStratford upon Avon District Council granted consent for the Manchester-based practice’s 1,000m2 scheme near the Warwickshire village of Wixford.According to Stephenson Studio, the existing house on the site – which includes a tower from an even earlier ‘castle-like structure’ built on the site in the early 19th century – is in a ‘serious state of disrepair’.Its proposals will create a modern home for a ‘young growing family’ and ‘guarantee the sustainability of Oversley Castle for the next 300 years and beyond’ according to planning documents.Open-jointed Purbeck random coursed stone walls will be contrasted with diamond-sawn stone lintels and bronze powder coated window frames in the new house, while a bedroom block will feature oak cladding. The home will feature five floors and integral garages with space for four cars.The house will be ‘as near to net zero energy’ as possible, according to planning documents, but won’t be submitted for Passivhaus accreditation. It will feature high levels of insulation and airtightness; photovoltaic slates on the roof; a rotary wind turbine within the estate; an air source heat pump; and green flat roofs.The project will start on site next summer.