Wilson Paul Award-Winning Chartered Architects In Dundee
Project / Seagrass. New build dwelling designed to capture views and create sheltered external terraces.
Client / Private Client
Description
The site is located within the small town of Easthaven, an attractive rural coastal village with stunning sea views, active fishing/agricultural community and a rich Scottish vernacular including fishing cottages, fisherman work sheds and ‘bothy’ type dwellings, as well as a number of substantial detached villas.
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Design Approach: The guiding design principles for the proposal draws from the characterful fishing sheds and bothy context to construct a small steading like dwelling. The design approach derives from the bothy and byre arrangement, with an emphasis on maximising views to the south-east, with a massing arrangement which generates a sheltered courtyard accessible to both the living and sleeping quarters.
The design utilizes two identically proportioned roof elements (living quarters are shorter in length) in a modern interpretation of east coast Scottish vernacular. Both elements are linked at the heart of the house by a thin glass link corridor that provides clear views and direct access to the courtyard area as well as the internal spaces from the main entrance. A rotation was applied to the design to help anchor the building into the site whilst also improving privacy of the sleeping quarters and maximising views.
The layout has been based around providing a higher degree of privacy to the east façade (visible from the site entrance, facing the access road) with limited windows, whilst the west and especially the south are opened to a much greater degree, with a small enclosed decked area positioned to maximise the evening sun whilst providing shelter from the prevailing winds. Sleeping accommodation is to the north-west of the footprint, again to provide greater privacy and uninterrupted views. A restrained palate of materials has been implemented to better accentuate the use of high-quality materials and building finishes. Siberian larch cladding is proposed as the main material for outer skin of the building, this is treated with a specialist coating (si:OOX) to allow a uniform silver-grey appearance.
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