Suffolk Beach House

Project Orange has been appointed to develop proposals for this new family beach house following an invited competition. The site, on the Suffolk coast, is located amongst an informal strand of simple, quirky houses and bungalows separated from the North Sea by a belt of dunes. The rear of the site looks out over grazing land and marshes. The original remaining houses date largely from the early twentieth century however a number of these have been redeveloped in recent years, often following a protracted planning process and Appeal.

The existing house on the site is an old timber bungalow, currently in a poor state of repair, which is neither statutorily nor locally listed. The proposed replacement is a two-storey house inspired by the local iconic beach huts perched on the sea wall. In response, it places the principle living accommodation at first floor level with the best views over the dunes and the marshes. This is housed in a cluster of simple pitched roof and timber clad beach hut forms, raised above a pebble and concrete base containing the bedrooms. The master bathroom is a further beach hut, built out into the garden in the spirit of the Edwardian bathing machine. All the accommodation is distributed around a central whitewashed brick core that contains stairs, storage, fireplace and log store and emerges at above roof level as a substantial chimney; literally and metaphorically anchoring the house to its site.

The proposed materials and details echo the playfullness of the concept and the immediate context, using pebbles, pantiles, black timber cladding and white picket fences to lyrical effect.