AR Design Studio completes Solent beachfront house
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AR Design Studio's recently completed 'Lighthouse 65'
Source: Mike Ford
[First look + plans] Emerging practice AR Design Studio has finished work on this £300,000 seafront home overlooking the Solent and the Isle of Wight
According to the Winchester-based firm, the 200m² super-insulated Lighthouse scheme in Hill Head, Fareham takes its inspiration from ‘traditional beach pavilions such as the De La Warr in Bexhill a little further along the coast’.
The three-bedroom house was designed to allow all living spaces to have views of the waterfront.
The architect’s view - Andy Ramus
The site is enclosed between two neighbouring buildings and a 7m-high embankment to the north; of which pavement and street access sits at the top.
The design concept was to maximise the building’s width, so every key room enjoys expansive views of the vista. All bathrooms and utility spaces run at the rear of the property, allowing the view to be continuous for all ‘living’ spaces. The house sits seven metres below road level with the roof acting as a parking deck for three cars. Visually the roof and floor decks are hung from the central concrete core, terminating in large cantilevers that provide shade and open-air shelter to the ground floor.
Balconies and outdoor accommodation are provided by horizontal planes carefully cantilevered from a central access tower which penetrates the roof plane; atop of which sits a frameless glass enclosure providing access and acting as a lighthouse. Lighting within this enclosure is triggered by a barometer providing instantaneous information to the beach and sea beyond. This illuminated glass cube sits on top of the concrete stair core. At night the lit glass glows to indicate local weather conditions: green when weather is fair, and red when atmospheric pressure drops, warning passing yachtsmen of possible stormy conditions.
Project data
Architects: AR Design Studio
Location: Hill Head near Fareham
Type of project: one-off house
Structural Engineers: Paul Tanner Associates
Project Architect: Andy Ramus of AR Design Studio
Design team: AR Design Studio
Client: Adrian and Lynne Sproson
Funding: Private
Tender date: 15 November 2010
Start on site date: 30 November 2010
Contract duration: 10 months
Gross internal floor area: 200m²
Form of contract and/or procurement: Minor works
Total cost: £300,000
Main contractor: MGS Construction
Selected subcontractors and suppliers: Stone and ceramic warehouse- tiles; HH aluminium windows and sliding doors; CSGS — Structural Glass entrance cube.
Annual CO2 emissions: N/A
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