Beech House, Chorleywood | Chandran Hughes

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Children's Homes for children with EBD

Beech House, Chorleywood

Smrithi Chandran

Founding Partner

A watercolor and line art illustration, rendered in soft, muted tones on sepia-toned paper, of a detached house with a distinct roofline. The property has a large front garden with a paved driveway on the left leading to an integral single garage with a dark roller-shutter door. To the right of the garage is a large bay window with white frames and small square panes, characteristic of a mock-Tudor or 1930s design. The central part of the house features a main entrance with a dark, panelled door and a white front porch. Above the entrance, a small gable features a single casement window. Another window is visible to the right of the door. The roof is tiled, with multiple gables and a hip design, featuring terracotta tiles. A brick chimney stack is visible on the right. To the rear left, the roof and chimney of another building are partially visible behind mature trees. The foreground consists of a meticulously detailed lawn with ornamental grasses, low-growing shrubs, and borders with flowering lavender and perennials. A dense hedge borders the right side of the property, with a partial view of another property's roof. The driveway is made of paviours. Trees surround the property, and the sky is a pale wash of grey-white with faint clouds. The style is classic architectural rendering with a natural, artistic feel.

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Project Overview: A bespoke spatial transformation converting a spacious residential dwelling into a high-quality, trauma-informed home for children aged 5–18 with Learning Disabilities (LD), Autism, and Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD).

The Architectural Challenge: Transforming a traditional family property into a fully compliant, therapeutic living environment requires far more than standard room adaptations. The key challenge was integrating specialised sensory requirements and robust safety features while ensuring the house retained genuine domestic warmth—completely avoiding any cold, clinical, or institutional feel.
Spatial Innovation & Design Solution:
- Open-Plan Living & Dining: Reconfigured the ground floor layout to create bright, welcoming communal areas that encourage natural social interaction and shared daily routines.
- Dedicated Sensory & Recreation Rooms: Designed quiet breakout spaces away from the main hub of the home, giving young people dedicated areas to play, relax, regulate their emotions, and engage in therapeutic activities.
- Aspirational Domestic Craftsmanship: Selected high-grade, durable finishes and warm materials to ensure long-term resilience without compromising on beauty, dignity, or comfort.
Navigating Planning & Overturning Refusal:
- Initial Barrier: Although the Planning Officer recommended the scheme for approval, intense local opposition led the Planning Committee to refuse the application.
- Strategic Planning Appeal: Refusing to let sound architectural and social merit be lost, we led a detailed appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. We successfully demonstrated that the initial refusal lacked objective planning grounds.
- Outcome Secured: The Planning Inspectorate overturned the decision, granting full planning permission and clearing the path to deliver this vital residential home.
Full-Service Partnership: From early spatial exploration and trauma-informed design through to standing firm at appeal, our full-service involvement ensured design integrity was protected every step of the way.