The new dwelling consists of an arrangement of cellular bedrooms with views to the estuary, accessed from open plan communal spaces.  The spaces engage directly with the external environment through a series of glazed openings leading to sun terraces and cantilevered balconies. The ultra-high insulative specification of the roof, walls and windows responds to the long-term environmental impact of the dwelling, and the roof provides an opportunity for the provision of a natural habitat with a sedum planted landscape.

NEW DWELLING
SOUTH EAST CORNWALL
TO BE COMPLETED
McCaren Design’s brief was to design a family home with living accommodation, four bedroom suites, ample cooking and sanitary facilities, storage and ‘back of house’ accommodation. The most important design requirement was to take advantage of the magnificent sea views wherever possible.

Materials and colour palette are in direct relation to the cliff site in which the new building sits.  The choice of layered slate for a perimeter wall and the vertical stack elements of the building makes reference to the slate cliff; western red cedar timber weatherboarding articulates the curved walls which will weather to a muted grey; glazed walls express the honesty of the contemporary design and the sedum roof will help the building blend into the landscape when viewed from above. The colours, textures and finishes of the new dwelling allow the building to express its form while echoing its immediate natural environment.

NEW DWELLING
LOOE, CORNWALL
TO BE COMPLETED TBC
McCaren Design were commissioned to design a new house on a coastal site in South East Cornwall.  Although the site already had planning permission for a new dwelling, our clients wished to investigate other options that would make the most of the panoramic ocean views.

In plan, the external shell of the house forms a semi-circle facing towards the sea. At first floor level this unique form creates an open plan communal space with dramatic 130o views of the ocean and surrounding landscape.  On the ground floor are three cellular bedrooms with en-suite facilities and direct access to a cantilevered timber sun terrace.  Respect for the ‘Art Deco’ influence in adjacent houses, helped to form the design principle, but modern ‘green’ technologies also make this a home for the 21st century.

NEW DWELLING
DOWN THOMAS, DEVON
COMPLETED MARCH 2007
Having investigated the option of altering and extending the existing house on this magnificent site, it was decided to demolish the building and build a new house perfectly tailored to suit the clients’ brief while taking full advantage of the panoramic view across Plymouth Sound.

The 6,000 mile distance between McCaren Design and their clients in Johannesburg did not present any difficulties during the design process, with drawings and images being easily exchanged by email.

The clients desire to maintain the ‘bungalow’ imagery of the original property, despite the 50% increase in size, and their concerns about not obstructing the views of their neighbours, resulted in a low, wide building with most of the accommodation on the ground floor.  The U-shape plan of the first floor encloses a roof terrace above the fully glazed dining room in the centre of the elevation.