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Mirror House/Michael Kendrick Architects
- area:
49 square meters
Year:
2022
manufacturer: vector artwork, fem life, Alexander Seyfried and Richard Lambert, flame maker, Forbes and Lomax, hay, Designed by Hans J. Wegner for Carl Hansen & Son, huff woods, Joan Gaspar, Johnson custom, luxury stone, mandarin stone, sage glass, sect, silva lumber co., Xavier Manosa and Marsala-
Chief Architect:
Michael Kendrick Architects
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Text description provided by the architect. Looking Glass Lodge, designed by Michael Kendrick Architects, is a unique woodland retreat and holiday home situated in a natural clearing in the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty. Using a low-impact, material-driven design approach, the cabin is hidden from view and blends seamlessly into the protected woodland.
As a lifelong local resident, the client’s vision for this holiday was to enhance the area’s ecological biodiversity, protect wildlife, and allow guests to understand and appreciate the area’s flora and fauna, as well as its unique history and nature. The hotel is also committed to supporting the local economy by providing a platform for local businesses, such as food and drink manufacturers, and artists to showcase their products and work.
The subtle and refined design is modest in scale and takes advantage of the sloping site, making the cabin appear taller among the trees as the ground level gradually drops. Large picture windows on both the front and rear facades give the cabin a palpable sense of transparency, allowing visitors to enjoy stunning natural views from all areas of the cabin and fully immerse themselves in their surroundings.
The cabin is flooded with natural light year-round, while self-tinted electrochromic glass provides privacy and limits overheating and artificial light spillover at dusk. Crucially, the use of this glass also ensures that the hut does not interfere with bat activity at the site, helping to ensure a long-term habitat for this protected species.
The interior layout is simple and welcoming, including an open-plan living space with a wood-burning stove. The project uses wood harvested from fallen trees on site to heat the cabin in the winter, significantly reducing the cabin’s operating costs and creating a cozy Scandinavian-style retreat. A thoughtfully appointed bespoke kitchen sits at the heart of the cottage, while birch plywood joinery gently subdivides the layout to create more private bedrooms. The ensuite has a freestanding bathtub and takes advantage of the wooded views.
The lodge was built by local Hastings craftsmen and uses the same species of wood – western red cedar – for its exterior cladding and interior lining. If unfinished, the exterior will be naturally weathered to a silvery gray, reminiscent of the local landscape, contrasting with the cozy, warm tones of the interior.
The site’s existing ecology, habitat and treeline were key considerations throughout the project from fabrication to completion. The lodge’s hybrid steel/timber frame structure is pressed onto a helical pile foundation, using a low-impact approach that avoids damaging existing tree roots, ensuring no tree felling is required and maintaining clear passage for wildlife. The project also prioritized off-site construction to circumvent the logistical constraints of the site and to do so safely with minimal disruption to the construction process.
The construction provides an opportunity to bring the site’s biodiversity above its current baseline, including clearing invasive plants currently on the site and adding bat and bird boxes to encourage natural regeneration of native flora.
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