An oversized, zinc-clad roof shelters Chestnut Plantation, a brick and timber home alongside a wildflower garden in Hampshire designed by local studio John Pardey Architects.

Located in a woodland glade at the edge of the New Forest National Park, Chestnut Plantation was designed by John Pardey Architects (JPA) to replace a former small dwelling on the site.

Planning restrictions required that the habitable floor area be no larger than 100-square-metres but permitted an outbuilding, which led to JPA creating two smaller brick structures on either side of a courtyard garden.

"The house was conceived as a courtyard form with two single-storey pavilions – house and outbuilding – set either side of an enclosed garden," explained the studio.

The main building has been kept as open as possible, centred around a large living, dining and kitchen space that overlooks the central garden through full-height windows and sliding glass doors.

Wrapping the garden is a paved patio and walkway, lined by a low wall and wooden fence that mirrors the wooden slats used to shield the bedroom windows for privacy.

"The house is essentially a single room, with living spaces to the west and a master bedroom suite to the east, separated by a central service 'box' containing bathrooms and storage," the studio said.

"The front door opens onto a long circulation spine along the courtyard edge and is screened from the adjacent living space by a masonry wall."

Both the brickwork of the walls and timber trusses of the roof have been left exposed internally, creating a simple backdrop to the client's vintage furniture.

The "service box" features built-in kitchen units and storage opposite a stand-alone island, and sits lower than the ceiling to create a space for light and air to travel through the home.

"The house utilises a carefully limited palette of well detailed, robust, low maintenance and sustainable materials," described the practice.

"The central volume is in white painted plaster finished to read as if a giant piece of furniture sitting within the house, and includes a bespoke kitchen with chestnut veneers to the cabinetry," it continued.

The pitched roof of the main home, which is clad in dark zinc panels and finished with large photovoltaic panels, has been given large overhangs to provide shade and prevent overheating.

In the outbuilding opposite, a garage and storage area sits alongside a large home office, which also overlooks the garden through a set of full-height windows.

JPA is a Lymington-based architecture studio founded in 2000 by John Pardey. Its previous projects include a home on the banks of a River Thames tributary that is elevated on stilts to mitigate the risk of flooding.

Elsewhere in the New Forest, Pad Studio used a pair of pitched-roof volumes to define a home that was designed to connect with its rural surroundings.

The photography is by Brotherton Lock.