Whaleback provided heritage and planning advice to support the delivery of an ancillary garden building within the grounds of a Victorian country house, serving as a home office, studio, and private gallery. The site was a ruinous walled garden on a south-facing slope, surrounded by trees and with distant views of the South Downs. It retained traces of its previous agricultural use, including the roofless remains of a small cottage with an attached oasthouse. While the existing structures were not considered to have architectural or heritage value, they informed the design.

The building explores the interplay between walled garden, oast, and sculptural expression. From either side it appears as a solid wall, framing garden spaces while housing accommodation within its depth.

We prepared and coordinated the planning and heritage submissions, clearly articulating landscape, design and public-benefit arguments to secure consent for a highly crafted and conceptually ambitious scheme.