The Friston house stands on the site of two 18th century
cottages, built for gamekeepers on the Wentworth estate.
The cottages were in an entirely dilapidated condition
when bought by the current owners of the house six years
ago so it was decided that they should be replaced.

The new house retains the feel of these cottages (especially
the front elevation) with the use of a pitched slate
roof and striking Aldeburgh Red brick. The house's
architects, Michael and Patty Hopkins (who live in their
own house nearby) wanted to avoid disturbing the rural
atmosphere of the site so designed a house that is reserved
in its modernity.

Michael and Patty Hopkins pioneered the High-Tech
style of architecture (along with Richard Rogers, Norman
Foster and Nicholas Grimshaw) with the startling design
of a house in Hampstead in 1976, made almost entirely
of steel and glass. These tendencies, although muted,
still emerge throughout the Friston house, most notably
in the large, double-height living room which has one
entirely glazed wall and extensive exposed structural
flitch beams (made from Douglas fir and galvanised steel).
The spiral steel staircase, made specifically for the
house, is another feature that links the architecture
of the house to such projects as the Greene King Warehouse
in Bury St Edmunds, designed by Michael Hopkins and
Partners in 1976.

In the book,The Work of Michael
Hopkins and Partners(Phaidon Press, 2001), Colin
Davies describes Michael Hopkins's architecture
as "functional and honest– For him, the
starting point of the design process is never an intellectual
idea, [it is] always an instinctive response to brief
and context". This much is clear in the Friston
house, an essentially straightforward and satisfying
piece of architecture constructed largely from locally-sourced
materials.

Michael Hopkins (b. 1935) and his wife Patricia (b.
1942) established their practice in 1976. Among their
most celebrated projects are the Mount Stand at Lords
Cricket Ground, the David Mellor Offices and Showroom
in Derbyshire, Glyndebourne Opera House in Sussex, Manchester
City Art Gallery and the New Parliamentary Building
and Underground Station at Westminster. Michael Hopkins
and Partners have also completed a number of celebrated
private residences over the years. Both Michael and
Patty Hopkins are RIBA Gold Medal laureates.