Competition design for a new boarding house
Eton College, Berkshire

The design for the boarding house evolved out of the complex context of the site, the need to retain the prominent existing trees, respect and respond to the setting of the listed building adjacent, and through study of the evolution of the architecture of Eton and rich history of its Houses. It will be the first boarding house to be built at Eton since 1962 and therefore an exciting and historic commission to build on a legacy that stretches back nearly 600 years.​ The smaller scale of the staff cottage fronting the street provides a buffer to the larger boarding house beyond, and helps set a natural transition, sitting comfortably within the Conservation Area. On entering the site, garaging creates a sense of enclosure before opening up into the impressive, but restrained modern classically-inspired boarding house. The Housemaster’s house sits as a bookend to follow the style, detail and massing of the staff cottage that fronts the street. The overall design of the houses builds from the rich vocabulary of traditional design and implements cues of classical details executed in a subtle manner with the use of materials in careful composition.