A House On The Lagoon

This new detached home replaces an outdated bungalow on a promontory in a secluded lagoon in the Norfolk broads, providing practice director, Patrick Michell, with a family home.

- Patrick Michell

Designing a new building for the plot provided the opportunity to enhance the setting by establishing a stylish counterpoint to more traditionally designed neighbouring houses, while respecting the peaceful location. A key objective was to create simple, contemporary living spaces at the centre of the house that are orientated to benefit from the views of the surroundings.

The house is arranged as three low rise bays, whose pitched roofs echo the working boat sheds typically found on the Broads. Externally the roofscape and side walls have been clad in blackened timber shingles to express the form as an abstract folded plane. To the front and rear elevations the timber shingles are left untreated to allow them to weather and create a warm textured appearance. On the underside of the roof on the waterside elevation, timber boarding has been used to create a refined aesthetic that ties in with the internal joinery.

Each bay has a different volume and is orientated to address different views across the wetland landscape that surrounds the house. The double height vaulted living space faces onto carr woodland and a network of drainage dykes that teem with wildlife whilst the central bay offers panoramic views across the private lagoon. The bedroom wing has smaller framed views that pick out the reedbeds and jetty.

The façade to the entrance is a simple expression of the three pitched bays that have been subtly faceted around the landscaped ramp, with the main architectural drama reserved for the waterside elevation. Timber shingle cladding contrasts the materiality of neighbouring houses, and is beginning to weather back to provide a sympathetic presence against the surrounding trees and water.