British Brilliance
Sometimes as we explore the global arena to source projects that are truly exemplary we discover a practice whose entire body of work takes our breath away. Hyde + Hyde in the UK is one such practice. Set against moody backdrops in dramatic locations, images of the buildings they have designed and created across the UK have an almost poetic presence while they express a strong sense of permanence. Projects are always contextual using innovative materials and sustainable technologies.
Their work has featured in the Sunday Times, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Grand Designs magazine and has won numerous local and national awards. Be inspired as you peruse a mere handful of these very special projects that follow.
The Quatrefoil house is inspired by the Gothic revival style of the existing house, the addition is an exploration of ornament – expressed using a quatrefoil tectonic tile in steel and bronze.




Pryde House is nestled away within a suburban setting and is intentionally isolated from its local context by a large all encompassing reflecting pool. The home is surrounded by mature brick walls and the timeless physiological isolation of water. These elements reinforce the phenomenological nature of the work, supporting the idea of a luxurious inner world among nature and solitude.



The dramatic site within an isolated, disused quarry on the edge of the Brecon National Park demanded an architectural intervention of elegant simplicity in the House for a Photographer. With a modest budget and to counter the construction complexities associated with touching the quarry walls, the architects developed an object building suspended within the basin – collecting light and focusing on distant views like a camera Obscura.





The 250m² house named ‘Petrichor’ – the sweet smell in the air after rainfall – features large overhangs and canopies designed to collect and celebrate rain water, while providing a heightened sense of warmth and shelter. A home that responds to the human and natural geography of North Wales. It is an expression and a search for something deeply sensual, both visually and physically.




Faroe Island Housing in Runavik, positioning itself and conditioned by the environment. Simple homes do not touch the ground and are placed delicately on gabion walls minimising distruption to the terrain. This approach protects the site, celebrates and retains a certain natural porosity to the existing landscape condition. It allows winds to flow freely under the home and provides a place of refuge for domesticated animals and sheltered outdoor activities.


