Pine Cottage

Location: Cheshire

Brick Manufacturer: Wienerberger Ltd

Brick Name: Hathaway Brindled

Architect: Wake Morley Architects

Brickwork Contractor: D&S Projects

Architecture enhances the world we inhabit. It transforms the machine for living into something greater than mere function. It becomes a canvas for human expression, reflecting the diversity of humanity through the buildings we occupy. In doing so, architecture brings vibrancy, meaning, and beauty to our built environment.

Vision, style, building typology, material palette, local vernacular, and the natural landscape all shape our approach to each project. Every building sits within a broad context—physical, cultural, and historical—and that context demands a response that is both respectful and imaginative.

In the UK, planning authorities rightly aim to protect the greenbelt from unchecked and sprawling development. The prevailing policy presumes against new development in these areas—a stance that, while understandable, can be frustrating for those who not only wish to enjoy the natural landscape in their leisure but long to dwell within it.

In the case of Pine Cottage, the client was able to make use of the site’s existing volume to secure planning consent for a new-build home in their preferred Arts and Crafts style. Brick, forming the backbone of the material palette, plays a vital role in both the home’s character and its connection to place.

The setting is striking—flat and open, with long vistas that demand a thoughtful and sensitive architectural response. In such a context, brick becomes more than a question of colour or texture; it roots the home in its landscape and defines views through subtle plays of mass, depth, and shadow.

Pine Cottage rises gently from the ground on a modest plinth, capped with a double cant brick that lends the house both presence and provenance. Traditional architectural features—arches, piers, and buttresses—frame doorways and mark transitions, creating access points that punctuate the façade and add a graceful rhythm to the whole.

At the heart of the design is the brickwork, which reveals its richness through countless small moments. Subtle three-point arches form the entryway into the courtyard, each topped with an identical stepped header, meticulously designed and manufactured off-site for precise, millimetre-perfect installation.

Throughout, brick detailing brings depth and character. A quiet nook at ground level houses an intricate fireplace with a stepped brick flue. At roof level, chimney stacks are rotated at forty-five degrees and adorned with elegant string course detailing. Brick projections and indents create a shifting dance of light and shadow across the facades.
Such detailing, though easily overdone, is kept in balance here. It does not compete for attention but serves the whole. The goal is not to shout, but to whisper—allowing the cumulative effect of craft and restraint to register at a subconscious level. At Pine Cottage, this balance is struck with clarity and grace.

The large expanses of brickwork are punctuated by the use of local natural stone—both pitched face and ashlar—offering texture and contrast. The carefully chosen brick and mortar tones harmonise beautifully with the surrounding materials, lending the house a mature and timeless quality.