We were approached to design a new-build home for our clients, their young children and extended family. Multi-generational living was a key consideration from the outset, to ensure accessibility and longevity.
Positioned on a highly exposed coastal site, our clients sought to minimise environmental impact and maximise views whilst maintaining a level of privacy.
We proposed an open courtyard house arrangement, creating a central landscaped space protected from the elements on three aspects by accommodation wings.
At ground level, masonry structural walls clad in Cornish stone create a solid base for a sustainable timber framed construction above. Our landscape strategy embeds the house into it’s coastal setting with Cornish stone walls, a raised terrace and newly planted trees, shrubs and native plants.
The house is presented as a collection of mono-pitched forms creating a protective barrier around the central courtyard, which houses a sheltered kitchen garden and greenhouse.
The north block houses communal spaces including the open plan kitchen/living room and a master bedroom, both orientated to enjoy the dramatic sea views. A stepping pitched roof creates generous double height volumes.
Children’s bedrooms and various ancillary spaces are housed in the adjoining flat-roofed eastern block, with circulation routes designed to be accessible to both young children and grandparents.
The mono-pitched roof typology is adopted again on the southern boundary, where a ground floor guest room and the greenhouse lines the boundary between the courtyard and the road
Through robust construction and accessible design, The Watch House will provide our clients with a resilient and adaptable home for their extended family and friends to enjoy.
Designed with Passivhaus principles to be net-zero in operation, the house features in-built photovoltaic panels to generate its own energy, ground source heat pumps to reduce its environmental impact and a green roof to boost local biodiversity.
