Loft House

Loft House brings an urban way of living to a coastal estate and turns the traditional suburban layout on it’s head, with generous open plan lounge/kitchen/dining on the first floor and bedrooms on ground.

Built on an empty plot set aside for a typical seaside bungalow, the design creates a contemporary & light filled family home, while working within the strict size limitations permitted on the site.

The two storey pitched volume is wrapped in black corrugated steel, taking inspiration from the bitumen-clad fishing huts which have become synonymous with the Kent coastline over the last 150 years. An informal arrangement of openings of different sizes lends a playful character to the monochrome facades.

Entered via the side of the house, the ground floor accommodates four bedrooms and two bathrooms, which branch off from a central circulation spine. A power-floated concrete floor flows between each of the rooms, creating a feeling of a fluid and connected living by day before spaces become more private and cellular at night.

An OSB staircase leads upstairs to a large open-plan space with areas for living, working, entertaining, cooking and dining. Low eaves dramatically raise up to a central ridge line that runs from the front to the back of the house, with large sliding doors framing elevating coastal views, and allowing cross ventilation of cooling sea air in summer months.

The simple palette of materials is carried through the external landscaping where a series of private outdoor spaces for relaxing and entertaining are created using railway sleepers, shingle, timber decking and wild planting.

The build was carried out on an extremely tight construction budget and the project forms part of an ongoing story in our work illustrating how modest materials and construction methods can be carefully combined to create buildings that are rich in character and spatial quality.