Clay Rise balances ambitious architectural forms with a place-based material palette.

Featuring a sweeping roofline and a material palette comprising local materials and craft traditions, Templeton Ford debuts Clay Rise.

This three-bedroom adaptable home in the bucolic village of West Hoathly, West Sussex, explores the relationship between local tradition and ambitious architectural form through its tiered roofline and contextually driven material choices.

Shortlisted for the 2025 Manser Medal, Clay Rise stands as Templeton Ford’s very first project. Architect, Andre Templeton Ford, and stylist, Jessica Templeton Ford, launched their practice in 2025, following well-established careers in leadership positions at international architecture offices and in creative direction, and design.

Embodying many of Templeton Ford’s ideas including craftsmanship, materials, and place, Clay Rise is an especially site-specific work set on the neighbouring plot of Ford’s childhood home. West Hoathly’s built character - the clay-tiled cottages, handmade brickwork, and rich tradition of craft - provided inspiration and guided the material selection.

Local bricks, made from the same clay originally found in the soil underneath Clay Rise, make up the external skin of the building. A datum line wraps around the home, where brick and red clay tiles meet.

The house is constructed from a prefabricated panellised timber frame system. Erected in just two weeks, this system ensured precision, speed, affordability and environmental credentials were achieved. More bricks were used at the rear of the home, where the house has been lowered into its hillside position by 1.5 metres – embedding it inside the landscape.

By positioning Clay Rise deep into the site, Templeton Ford has created a split level arrangement of floors inside and a natural grassy slope to the rear garden. This creates a deeper slope at the rear, consequently making way for a dramatic curved form.

Designed originally as a multigenerational family dwelling, the split-level floorplan allows the house to function as two independent spaces: a self-contained two bedroom apartment on the ground floor, and the generous main living quarters above. Including a stand-out living room, kitchen, and main bedroom suite with expansive views.

Reflecting on the project, Andre Ford, founding director, Templeton Ford comments: “Clay Rise is a versatile family home that has allowed us to explore ideas that we’ve been collecting for many years. We sought to produce a home that is entirely of its place, through a deep understanding of its context and local craft traditions.”

Inside, Clay Rise is defined by warmth, light, flow, and tactility. Continuing the curve of the roof, sweeping forms are repeated throughout the interiors, achieving an intentional softness. A curved CNC-cut staircase finished in lime plaster greets entrants, drawing your eye up to the main living space. The lime-plastered walls continue throughout, paired with exposed timber and stone floors. Thoughtfully placed windows with deep sapele timber reveal framed views of the landscape. Curves are echoed in joinery, handmade plastered wall lights, and the sweeping rooflines.

The interiors feature a collection of bespoke and found furniture and fixtures guided by Jessica’s expertise in antiques and auctions. This contributes to a homely and ‘lived-in’ feeling. A second-hand kitchen and utility fittings were integrated into the design, and off-cuts from the timber frame were repurposed on site as custom joinery.

Passive environmental strategies inform both the form and detailing of the building. The build is oriented to make the most of solar gain and shading, with a deep south-facing window allowing low winter sun to penetrate through, while limiting summer overheating. Cross ventilation is encouraged through operable east-west openings, and a central stair atrium acts as a thermal chimney, drawing warm air upward to maintain comfort year-round.

An air source heat pump provides efficient heating and hot water, complemented by high levels of insulation and double-glazed windows.

Clay Rise is designed to accommodate multigenerational or evolving family needs. Key services like underfloor heating, lighting circuits and wiring have been designed to accommodate these future changes. The main bedroom can be split in two to create an additional bedroom, and living areas can function independently for family members, carers or lodgers. The ground floor space could also serve as a home office or a spacious main bedroom with ample storage.

Both modest and expressive, Clay Rise has been designed to belong to its surrounding. It embodies a sense of place. Templeton Ford has created a contemporary expression of local vernacular - a crafted building made to last and adapt gracefully to future needs.

Discover more about this adaptive, materially driven build, Clay Rise here.