Concept for Large Self-build Manor-style House for Professional Footballer, Alderley Edge, UK

Concept garden for a professional footballer

When a client asks for a concept garden before the house has actually been built it is always reassuring, as it shows the client is already thinking about how the outdoor spaces will relate to the house.

This self-build, architect-led house sits within 20 acres of parkland with 5 acres of surrounding garden. The design of the garden, which wraps around the house is to be a family garden, with 3 young children, a place to exercise, play, relax and entertain in.

Although there is a front door, the house is being designed so that every facade has an entry point, which means that strong sight lines will lead the eye out across the more ‘manicured’ family garden and beyond to the woodland, copses, meadows and lake.

The client wants the garden to be sustainable with large in-ground rainwater-harvesting systems, solar powered lighting, photovoltaic panels to create electricity for outbuildings, a rain garden between the house and long driveway to deal with any excess water, which currently collects in that area.

Local flora will be analysed and then cultivated and wild forms will be added into the scheme for sustainability and biodiversity.

Three large eucalyptus trees flank the main entry point and are seen within the concept garden, and while the client is not keen on them, the wildlife love them, including bats, so a decision will be made before construction whether or not to remove them and set up new homes with bat boxes, bird boxes, etc. The client also wants to attract wildlife into the garden, so areas of the lawns will be left to grow long and seeded with a wildflower mix, and bug hotels (to be made by the children) will be dotted throughout the garden.

This is a long-term exciting project with many design facets and while an overall concept plan will be drawn up, this is a garden that will evolve as the client and his family start to explore and use the space more.

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