Prior to this, the tidal movement of sands and the storms which break over the mountains to the south and crash north-westerly across the bay caused over 1,500 shipwrecks. The bodies of unidentified sailors washed up on the shore were buried in the nearby graveyard of the Mariners Church, the ruins of which still stand on a low hill overlooking the sea. In 1804 a series of Martello Towers were built along the coastline to watch for a Napoleonic invasion – which never came. One of these - with its 2.4m thick walls - still stands less than 1km away.

And so, the house was conceived as a shelter from the storm – a cozy refuge from where our clients and their family can hunker down in comfort and security and look out over the bay as the rainclouds break the mountain-tops 10kms to the southwest, knowing in 15 minutes the first wind-driven sprays of seawater will hit the windows. The project was at the early design stages at the beginning of 2020 when everything changed – and Covid hit. Like many others, the project was paused as we all waited to see how the world would come through an event unprecedented in living memory.

The pause gave time for reflection, and for assessing values and priorities. The clients and the design team experienced the loss of close family members. While under construction, significant health issues arose and were overcome by some, but sadly not by all – their wonderful concrete work visible every day in the finished product, reminding us of the value, and the poignancy of life. We wanted the house to act as a reassuring bulwark – a motif for constancy amidst the passing of time and the vagaries of weather.

We chose exposed concrete as the primary structural and organisational material for this reason – supplemented by softer materials – accoya timber for external joinery and charred larch for dormers - which have weathered, softened and changed over time, displaying a vulnerability, yet chosen for their ability to withstand the battering of the elements. The plan is primarily a cruciform, formed by 4 concrete pillars and 2 concrete beams, the beams spanning front to back, framing the primary, dual-aspect living space, drawing the eye forwards towards the bay and backwards where one of the beams continues on into the garden before folding back on itself, housing the bedrooms which overlook the relative calm of the sheltered rear courtyard.