Richard Meier to Design Home for Mr. Bean

Editor's Note: More renderings/images of models added on Sept. 8.

Richard Meier revealed last night that his design plans for a new home for actor Rowan Atkinson in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)in Oxfordshire, England were approved by the South Oxfordshire District Council. This will be Meier's first built work in Great Britain.


A rendering of Handsmooth House, designed by Richard Meier for Rowan Atkinson

The house is textbook Meier: a white and glass structure with attention to natural light and clean modern lines.  The design, the architect said, is site specific and is meant to reflect and communicate the beauty around it, not compete with it.


A rendering of Handsmooth House, designed by Richard Meier for Rowan Atkinson

"The design was inspired by the surrounding area, the green rolling hills, the vast open spaces; I wanted that beauty to be reflected in my design," says Meier, managing partner of his eponymous firm. "We've also removed the old house, which was in dire disrepair, and replaced it with something that we know will be lived in and cared for years to come."


A model of Handsmooth House, designed by Richard Meier for Rowan Atkinson

"My wife and I have always loved the simple, elegant classicism of Richard Meier's architecture," says Atkinson, perhaps best known for playing the bumbling Mr. Bean and his starring role in the television comedy Blackadder. "Not only are we delighted to be building a house of his but we feel privileged to be building his first in Great Britain."


Rowan Atkinson

With limited modern architecture currently in Oxfordshire, Meier said he hopes to inspire a new heritage in the English countryside. "Modern architecture is always appropriate whether in the city or in the countryside. I hope this home will be a welcome addition to the wonderful historical modern architecture that has been built in the U.K. since the 1930s."


A model of Handsmooth House, designed by Richard Meier for Rowan Atkinson

One only hopes that some of Meier's signature sharp angles have been padded--in case Atkinson practices his pratfalls at home. 

Video Extra: Watch as Meier takes us on an exclusive tour of his model gallery.