PROPERTY OF THE MONTH Mobile homes

In a clearing at the end of a long gravel track in the middle of the New Forest stands a house that looks as though it’s been there for ever. Clad in chestnut panels and surrounded by wildflowers, it’s an idyllic hideaway more like a design-led contemporary home than a caravan.

In fact, that’s exactly what Forest Lodge is. Designed by Hampshire architectural practice, PAD Studio, it was built for a professional couple who had lived in a static caravan on their five-acre site for 15 years.

When they approached PAD Studio for advice on how to upgrade their existing 20-year-old mobile home, the company was mindful of their desire to create a dwelling that reflected the natural environment. But it also had to abide by the strict regulations of building in a National Park – the New Forest is one of 15 in the UK – and architect

Wendy Perring advised that a new, bespoke mobile home would be the best solution.

These rules exist to protect the National Park’s 200 square miles of grassland,

woodland and heath, and Forest Lodge had to adhere to the Caravan Sites Act 1968, so its length was restricted to 20 metres and its width to less than seven metres.

‘A key requirement of the clients’ brief was to create a new, very low-energy dwelling, flooded with light and with a strong connection to the landscape,’ says Wendy. ‘But most importantly, it was vital that the new dwelling shouldn’t resemble or feel like a mobile home.’

Prefabricated in a factory in Yorkshire, the £400,000 property was craned into place in two separate parts and can be removed at a future date. Despite this inherent mobility, Forest Lodge seems to sit firmly in the landscape and its owners live in it year-round.

One wall is almost completely glazed to make the most of views out into the forest, and has been constructed to Passivhaus standards, so it’s airtight, highly insulated, with solar PV, a sewage treatment plant and a rainwater harvesting system for the garden. Inside, it has an open-plan living/ dining/kitchen area and minimal corridors while soft neutral shades of pale oak, limestone and white make it feel much larger than its relatively modest dimensions, and provides a perfect backdrop to the beauty and changing light of the forest. ‘This connection with the landscape gives the home a feeling of solidity, serenity and permanence,’ says Wendy.

Forget the idea of a mobile home being poky, cramped and only good as a temporary measure. Models like this one are beautifully designed and constructed for modern, stylish living. And if a change of scene is required, it can just be picked up and moved…