Brief
Preparing for an active retirement, our clients wished to build a new sustainable home in the large grounds of their existing period property to avail of the reduced energy and maintenance costs of a new house and reduce their time and energy spent tending the garden by effectively halving its size. They wanted a better relationship to the garden than that provided by the existing house and wished to have views over the neighbouring properties to the coast beyond. The site lies within the former landscaped grounds of Westerdunes, a large A listed Arts & Crafts style manor built in 1908. The estate was split and developed as single housing plots in the 1970’s but retained some significant features from the original landscape design.
Proposals
The house form is modelled as a series of parallel feature stone walls which reflect the character of the former landscaped garden walls which still feature across the Westerdunes estate. The solidity of the walls provides privacy from/to the neighbouring properties. The stonework also blends harmoniously with the main house. In contrast, the front and rear elevations are entirely glazed. The garage and other ancillary accommodation to the sides are presented as lightweight timber boxes attached to the feature stone walls. The narrow linear form of the house provides a simple constructional envelope and avoids issues of privacy and overshadowing by maximising distances to side boundaries. It was also the most efficient form to limit the impact on existing trees in the well planted garden. Living accommodation is provided on both ground and first floors. The kitchen-living-dining room opens on two sides to large garden terraces at ground level, while the first floor sitting room looks over the adjacent estate and captures sea views beyond.
