Seabreeze
This project is experimental and delightful – and pink! A unique interpretation of a beach house, it has been designed to withstand the harsh coastal environment while still embracing the light-hearted pleasures of the English seaside.
Located on the East Sussex coast, directly backing onto the natural sand dunes and with outstanding views across the beach and the English Channel to the south, Seabreeze can only be accessed – and could only be built – by driving along the beach. The architects recognised that they would have to design a robust building to cope with the extreme weather conditions, with high winds, moving sand and salt air. They chose a simple shape – an abstraction of the neighbouring buildings, reminiscent of a child’s drawing of a house.
This simplicity is enhanced by the decision to omit gutters and window ledges, all of which act as ledges for sand. Instead, the architects designed the windows to be flush with the external faces of the house – and it is here that the building’s experimental aspects come into play: the building has been externally finished in trowelled microfibre concrete with a pink pigment, to create a sealed external envelope. They considered the external material selection carefully so that it is robust and strong. However, the pink pigment in the finish softens the visual impact and sets the building off against the dramatic and ever-changing backdrop of the sky and beach – and of course speaks of ice cream and candyfloss.
The festive character continues inside, but here the pleasures of leisure time are taken seriously, with bespoke joinery containing drinks cabinets and kitchen cupboards. Excellent detailing and space planning mean that the small size of the building is focused on harmonising the activities inside with the spectacular setting. A mini spa is nestled at the back of the ground floor, with a timber stair rising to wood-lined bedrooms with commanding views.
Internal area: 178.00 m²
Contractor: Coast View Property Ltd
Structural Engineers: Stephen Evans Associates LLP
Environmental / M&E Engineers: Baltic Heating
The Red House
The Red House is a new brick house in rural Dorset, which is a playful take on the rural vernacular farmhouse, full of references, beautiful details, and consideration for the owners, present and future. Many of the house signifiers are exaggerated and the bold green eaves, doors and windows give it a unique identity. Playful extended eaves, bay windows and graphically laid out brickwork are signifiers of the internal plan and provide an eccentric appearance.
The ground floor enfilade plan is cleverly ordered by the storage cores, creating an informal but connected series of spaces, unified by the material approach and beautiful end-grain larch wood-block parquet. The house is both compact but well-proportioned with great consideration given to future adaption and catering for elderly or less mobile residents and guests.
Internally, there are many subtle but inventive formal moves around the gables and eaves, which play out where the pitched soffits meet gables and ridges to create curved and rounded junctions to give a baroque quality.
The material palette may appear utilitarian and pragmatic, but care has been taken to coordinate and orchestrate the materials and flows throughout the house, especially in the joinery. A sumptuous stair drops down through a projecting bay window.
The clients’ requirements, specific and taste are evident throughout. The understated utilitarian appearance of the blockwork finishes and the contrasting artwork, furniture and inbuilt joinery, all successfully complementing one another.
Overall, this is a project full of delight and invention, pragmatism, and eccentricity along with knowing references, formal and informal gestures.
Contractor: Ken Biggs Contractors
Structural Engineers: Momentum
Environmental / M&E Engineers: SGA Consulting