Studio Hardie were commissioned to design and build five luxury lodges at the new Ashling Park Vineyard, as well as designing the main winery building. The landscape was a mixture of parkland and vineyard, with a well-established tree boundary and views of the South Downs.

We worked closely with the Client to help them realise their vision for a thriving and celebrated viticultural destination. They were involved throughout the project, with all decision making both aesthetic and functional.

After several rounds of master planning in collaboration with the landscape architect Andrew Smith and architect Philip Acton, we designed a set of one and two-bedroom lodges nestled between the boundary, vineyard and parkland. To break up the mass of the main winery, we created a series of staggered gables and pitched roofs emulating a cluster of traditional Sussex barns.

The lodges were prefabricated in our workshop and craned onto site. This dramatically reduced site time and ensured that the majority of cabinetry, heating and services could be carried out in the controlled environment of our workshop. The lodges consisted of 13 modular buildings that were engineered to sit on piers and to be lifted by crane.  They were clad in a dark grey steel sanding seam system with local larch rough sawn cladding.

The lodges were finished to a high specification, heavily insulated and accessible. Since opening the winery has been a huge success, adding a restaurant and hosting major events, with the lodges in constant demand.