A steel-framed glass bungalow perched on stilts jutting over a private lake in Hampshire could make for a spectacular commuter home — or impressive retreat within easy reach of the capital.
The five-bedroom Bridge House is so named because it acts as a 4000sq-ft bridge between two private islands — one of which is landscaped as a Japanese-style garden — and has been built entirely over the water except for its entrance.
Based on a Huf haus design, though in the end constructed without the German prefab specialists due to difficulties particular to the local landscape, the Bridge House has eight private acres of woodland as well as slipway access to the River Hamble for sailing enthusiasts.
The current owners, a husband and wife property developer team, built the house for themselves, completing work in 2021.
Prior to the build they lived on the adjacent land in another property, also for sale, but set their sights on the lake.
“I was sitting having morning coffee in my bed, and I turned to my husband and said – well, since we are developers and we’ve built so many nice things for other people, why don’t we build a house for ourselves?
“And I’m looking at the lake and saying ‘why don’t we put a house there?’ And then he turned around and said – are you mad?”
The challenge of building a house in their woodlands was apparent from the start – mainly because to get planning permission for such a project in a protected area you need a paragraph 55 permission (for a new isolated house in the countryside).
You have to prove that the house is exceptional in some way — in innovation, in design, in improving the local architectural landscape or the local environment.
The couple obtained the permission by explaining that the woodland and lake had been poorly managed previously, with non-indigenous species of fish introduced, for example, so they had plans to improve its sustainability and put their energy into it.
The house, too, has sustainable credentials to boot with triple glazing, solar panels with surplus energy feeding back into the grid, and underfloor heating powered by an air-source heat pump.
Another way to get permission for this kind of property is to explain how the general public will be able to enjoy the house, and luckily, the owners say, the coastal railway line passes by the property.
It is just close enough that passengers can get a glimpse of a mystery modern house through the trees, they say, but not so close that they can see you or that it’s disruptive.
Wedged right between the New Forest and South Downs, the current owners say it feels like living in a national park.
“I’ve got fifty wild ducks outside, I’ve got deer, I’ve got rabbits, I’ve got bats, I’ve got owls at night. So, it warrants something like a Huf haus because every room and every big pane of glass is a picture.”
It also happens to be a 15-minute drive from Southampton Airport Parkway train station, from which trains to London Waterloo run every half an hour and take as little as 1h11. Alternatively, it’s less than 10 minutes from the M27, so just a 90-minute drive to London.
The special location can be summed up, she says, thus: “I can see a kingfisher just fly past, and yet I’m just five minutes away from Waitrose!”
The property is for sale with The Modern House as the owners move on to their next project.
