Church Road
Client: Private
Location: Wembury, South Devon
Project Team: ZMA, John Grimes Partnership, AD Williams
Project Type: Contemporary Transformation and Extension of a 1970s Coastal Home
Materials: Slate cladding, sustainable timber frame, and original white-rendered gable
Architectural Features: Mirrored twin-gable form, double-height light-filled atrium, and extensive seaward glazing
Performance: High-performance timber frame with maximized insulation and passive solar orientation
Award-Winning Contemporary Coastal Extension, Wembury
The beautiful coastline in Devon is an inspiration for our work as architects and passivhaus designers.
With spectacular views of Wembury Bay and within walking distance of the beach, this house was calling out for a bit of extra space and a better connection to its surroundings. The additions transform the layout of the house, providing an open plan ground floor connected to the garden and the views of the sea. Upstairs four double bedrooms are arranged around a light filled atrium.
This project, a collaboration with Zac Monro Architects and featured on Channel 4’s Inside Out Homes and was recognized with the Build Architecture Award 2017, marking it as a benchmark for contemporary residential design in the Southwest.
“Tim’s knowledge was critical to the project, producing detailed drawings, assembling the project team and working closely with the clients throughout the build. The result is a unique light-filled family home in an incredible setting”
Good Homes Magazine, May 2018
Gallery
Press
Good Homes Magazine
May 2018
‘A unique, light-filled family home in an incredible and undeniably enviable setting…the couple couldn’t be happier with the outcome. “We feel very lucky to be able to live and work in such a fantastic house”.’
Inside Out Homes
2017
Architect Zac Monro, engineer Monty Ravenscroft, and gardener Rosie Bines tear down the walls of seven houses across Britain to create homes and outside spaces that unlock the potential of living inside and out like never before.
Further Info
The Brief: Reimagining a 1970s Cottage in an AONB
Originally built in the 70s, this gable fronted cottage overlooking the sea needed extensive work. Existing flat roofed extensions were at the end of their life and additional space was required for a growing family. The house was also not making the most of its spectacular setting, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty backing on to National Trust land and the dramatic cliffs of Wembury Bay.
Architectural Form: Twin Gables and Seaward Connection
The brief was always to maintain something of the original house. The white gable is a familiar marker in the landscape and provided the base for the transformation. The house has been stripped back to its core and the land adjacent excavated to double the footprint. The original white gable has been mirrored, separated by a deliberate 1.8m architectural void. Clad in natural slate, this newly formed volume hunkers respectfully into the sloping topography, allowing the old and new structures to establish an intuitive, harmonious relationship with their coastal surroundings. Recognisable as a simple repeat of volumes they offset comfortably against the wonderful disorder of the wooded valley.
At ground floor the seaward elevation is completely opened up to the view with extensive glazing, and an open plan layout creates a sense of space and connection to the surroundings. The double height atrium has large windows at first floor, washing the space with light and allowing views through. The stair rises in this space to a balcony from which the 4 double rooms are accessed.
Sustainable Construction and the ‘Inside Out’ Vision
The extension was engineered with a fabric-first approach to sustainability. It utilizes a highly insulated timber frame and meticulously oriented openings to maximize passive solar gain. Carefully selected original finishes were retained and elegantly upcycled, integrating the site’s history into the new architectural fabric.
The project was a collaboration between Zac Monro Architects in London and Tim Offer Architects in Devon, and it was the subject of the TV series Inside Out Homes on C4.
Development
On Site
