GLASS ACT A spectacular setting ensures picture-perfect views in a new-build coastal dwelling
A couple with a passion for architecture fulfilled their ambition of building a holiday home from scratch, and in an extraordinary location
for Shilen Patel and his wife Rachel Murray, having a family retreat by the sea was a long-cherished dream, and the idea of building something new appealed to Shilen, who has a passion for architecture and design. The two wishes were granted in the form of Pobble House, in the dramatic setting of Dungeness on the Kent coast. This is something of a Marmite location, with its expanses of shingle, big skies and nuclear power station looming nearby. Artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman helped make Dungeness famous with his own striking house and shingle garden, recorded in the landmark book Derek Jarman’s Garden. Since then, the area has become increasingly popular with artists and architects, many of whom live alongside the fishing families and settled residents of this curious English enclave.
Shilen first became interested in this part of the coast on boyhood bike rides from south London, and for many years his family kept a beach hut in Whitstable in Kent where they enjoyed days out by the sea. However, Shilen and Rachel decided they would like more substantial accommodation as a holiday escape from the working week and their terraced home in London’s Finsbury Park.
‘We made the decision that we wanted a bolthole of some description, where the family could let loose and be by the sea,’ says Shilen. ‘So we started thinking about where we might like to be, and Dungeness came back into my mind as somewhere that would be really interesting to investigate. I was a little uncertain at first about whether Rachel would like it, but we drove down and fell in love with the otherworldliness of it. It’s not like living in a picture-postcard
village, but we really enjoy the solitude, peace and quiet, as well as the landscape, which is constantly changing.’
Shilen and Rachel came across a 1930s bungalow and garage set back from the slim coast road that traverses the headland. The property was in poor condition and crumbling, so Shilen knew that the family would have a good chance of getting planning permission to either replace or refurbish it. Research into contemporary architects with local connections led them to Guy Hollaway, who has offices in Hythe and London. Together, architect and clients began working on ideas for a replacement house that would echo the size, height and profile of the original, while offering a contemporary home suited to the family and spacious enough to accommodate visiting friends.
‘We wanted it to be open and sociable but we needed plenty of built-in storage to stash away a lot of kit – a bit like you would have in a boat,’ says Shilen. The other side of the brief was building a modern house that blended into the landscape rather than standing out.
Working with the original footprint of the house and sightlines of Dungeness Lighthouse, Hollaway designed a new timber-framed house clad largely in pale larch, with an outrigger clad in Corten steel. ‘The building is extremely durable, which is important considering the harsh coastal climate and exposed setting,’ says the architect. The old garage was replaced with a six-bed children’s bunkroom for Tilika, Jaymin and
Flores, plus any visiting friends, while a glass link to the rest of the house echoes the gap between the two original structures.
A spine hallway passes two bedrooms and bathrooms before arriving in the open-plan sitting room and kitchen, and a recessed dining area, picked out in a seaside blue, contrasts with the fresh whites and oak floors. In this sociable space, seating is arranged around a woodburner and big corner windows framing views of the lighthouse and open landscape. The dining area, with its bespoke benches and large table, is a focal point for family life – four o’clock tea and cake is an honoured tradition here.
The area around Pobble House has been restored and returned to nature. With no boundaries between the building and the surrounding expanse of shingle and grassland, the dramatic sense of openness and space is reinforced. Its pale colours mean the new house, which took a year to build and is now shared with holiday-let guests, blends into the landscape as a discreet presence in this extraordinary setting.
‘I just love the contrast with everyday life,’ says Rachel. ‘In London we have a terraced home and the school run and all the normal things, but here we have the space and open scenery and the big skies. It’s all about going for a walk, throwing stones in the sea or inviting friends to come and stay and going over to the fish hut and then cooking a good meal together. Having no television is a big help as well – the view of the beach is all we need.’
‘We wanted it to be OPEN and sociable, but needed plenty of built-in STORAGE’
The house is a DISCREET presence in an EXTRAORDINARY setting