Carioca House is a new family home on the prestigious Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water, Surrey. Walter Lilly managed the demolition of the existing property, making way for a new 1,600 m² residence with two storeys and a basement.

The property is in the French Neo-Classical style and includes reception rooms at ground floor, bedrooms at the first floor, and detached single-storey outbuildings to provide staff accommodation.

The extensive basement houses a sauna, cinema and games room, office, kitchen, and swimming pool. A calming courtyard is located at the centre of the residence, designed to draw in daylight throughout the property. The swimming pool also receives diffused daylight via long perimeter lightwells, disguised within soft landscaping at ground level.

The stunning external elevations of the residence include natural Spanish slate roof tiles (SSQ Riverstone Ultra), Oosparite Limestone in pale cream beige and Sto Miral Scratch render in ‘Old English’, with rusticated elements formed using StoDeco.

Ancillary works included alterations to the access arrangements to the property and associated external works, drainage, landscaping and new incoming mains services.

The design and build process of Carioca House followed Hindu Vastu Shastra principles. The concept behind house design under these principles is the same as the design for a temple, with the internal and external spaces considered to be sacred and spiritual.

We were delighted to be involved in a project that included an approach to construction that is a departure from our norm. We were humbled by the principles applied to the build and were very pleased to be associated with it.