ABSTRACT
Elmswell is a small village in Suffolk, just under an hour’s train ride from Cambridge. It has a lot of 1970s bungalows and 1980s housing estates, and a few nice individual houses – but sources of inspiration needed to come from further afield in Suffolk. The area surrounding Elmswell is the typical flat landscape of Suffolk, with fields that continue to the horizon. For a long time, East Anglia was separated from the rest of the UK by the Fens and forests; it was far easier to access the Netherlands and Flanders than the rest of the UK. UK vernacular construction varies from region to region between timber-framed buildings and those with mass walling. Everyone scored the external appearance very low, but internally everyone was pleased with the appearance. The internal layouts and room sizes were particularly praised, especially when compared to the poor size standards in conventional new homes.
