Acme Hunsett Mill

The hunsett mills renovation project, by london-based architecture firm acme, was guided by a focus on environmentally friendly practices and the desire to create a building that would fit naturally into the landscape, in terms of both aesthetics and function.
Unique design challenges were presented by the property’s location, in the protected wetlands of the norfolk broads. Historically adapted for industrial use, the landscape of the broads has benefited from contemporary trends that emphasis conservation and a return to nature.
Originally the home of the keeper of the hunsett water pumping mill, the building underwent a series of extensions over the course of the 20th century. Added room-by-room and all at different times, the changes not only gave the house a disjointed appearance but also caused the land to sink, increasing the frequency of flooding from nearby marshes.
The acme renovation demolished the old additions and returned the building to its original architecture. In their place, a single large extension was added behind the house, more seamlessly integrating into the landscape.
The extension was conceived as a shadow of the existing house, and indeed from certain vantage points, it is barely visible behind the original property, despite its size. its charred timber facade blends into its setting, without resorting to mimicry of traditional building styles; and the distinctly modern architecture is tempered by the use of traditional pitched roofs.
Throughout the house, external and internal windows and optimal use of space lend a feeling of capaciousness to the rooms. The open ground floor is given a sense of structure by a fireplace, and its separate living spaces are unobtrusively demarcated by changes in floor level.
The first storey intersperses its seven rooms with hallways and pockets of space that look out over the first floor, and are thereby open to the full two-storey height of the building.