Boundary Road Boundary Road Dockenfied, Farnham Re-Format were commissioned to design the development of two 4 bedroom family homes in Dockenfield, Farnham. The site in particular was acquired by a consortium of local residents wishing to improve their village surroundings. The two dwellings have been designed as a mix of one and two storey elements which provide a suitable scale for the size of the plot. The placement of the houses on the sloping site utilises the site topography to set the ridge lines low in relation to the adjacent road level, ensuring the houses have a considered and minimal visual impact. This project transforms a neglected and contaminated former yard into two contemporary family homes, carefully designed to sit within the wooded slopes of Dockenfield. Conceived and delivered by a consortium of local residents, the scheme has been shaped through close consultation with the Parish Council and neighbours, giving it a rare and genuine community mandate. The architecture takes inspiration from the agricultural heritage of the area, combining buff brickwork, natural slate, and silvered timber cladding to create a calm, understated presence. The stepped forms settle into the rising ground, keeping ridge heights low and ensuring a minimal visual impact from Boundary Road. Expansive windows open the homes to views of trees and meadow planting, while green roofs and terraced gardens knit the buildings into their landscape setting. Sustainability has been embedded from the outset. The homes are designed to achieve exceptionally high energy performance standards, with thick insulation, air-tight construction, air source heat pumps, MVHR ventilation, infrared heating, and PV panels with battery storage — all contributing to a zero-carbon in-use ambition. Landscape and ecology enhancements bring further benefit: contaminated soils and scrap will be removed, while new wildflower meadows, specimen trees, and biodiverse ponds will re-establish a thriving habitat for wildlife. More than a pair of new dwellings, the project represents a wider act of village regeneration — replacing a degraded site with homes that are contemporary yet sympathetic, sustainable yet enduring, and above all rooted in the community that brought them into being.
