Modular house designed by Koto Studio surrounded by pastoral rural landscapes.

The cozy streets and rural views of the Cotswolds — an area in Gloucestershire — are well known even to those who have never been to the UK. This is an atmospheric corner of old England with traditional cottages and stone bridges, which can be seen in every second historical film or detective Agatha Christie. However, life does not stand still here: houses designed by modern architects regularly appear in the Cotswolds settlements. One of them is Falcon House, an eco-friendly prefab from the British studio Koto. 

Photo: Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

The laconic building is located on a gentle hill and is lined with planks of blackened wood. Studio architect Theo Dales came up with an unusual combination of two volumes-floors: similar to two boxes, they are mounted on top of each other so that the upper one is rotated around its axis. Prominent triangular elements form a canopy on one side and a terrace on the other. Like its architecture, the layout of the cottage is far from traditional. The authors placed the bedrooms on the ground floor, and the public spaces on the second: from the panoramic windows of the living room and kitchen, excellent views of the surrounding area open.

Photo: Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

Photo: Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

The house is made in the spirit of Nordic minimalism — its appearance is characterized by clean lines, monochrome and «honest» textured materials. The architects «wrapped» the building with wood not only from the outside, but also inside: in contrast to the facade of a charcoal shade, they used multilayer glued panels of light wood in the interior. The authors complemented the warm cream background in the living room and kitchen with furniture in soft shades of green. A simple table with a concrete base, mossy chairs, a terrazzo kitchen countertop in brown tones, a pale green sofa and indoor plants logically connect the interior with the landscapes opening from the windows. A compact wood-burning stove, woven carpets, lanterns and lamps provide a hugge effect. 

photo by Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

Photo: Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

In the bedrooms, a couple of wooden panels were plastered in dense shades — sand and gray. The architects decorated the headboard of the bed in the master bedroom with a storage system with corrugated facades, and used several vases and a round mirror as accents. The main decoration of the interior was the view of the garden, enclosed in a contrasting black frame of the panoramic window. 

Photo: Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

Photo: Edvinas Bruzas, Olco Studios 

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