Issue 45 Feb 25 web - Flipbook - Page 80
North Norfolk
coast modernisation
This deep retrofit of a house on the North Norfolk coast reconfigures a building once used as the
village butcher’s shop.
A + S came to us with the need to heavily modernise a
holiday home they had on the North Norfolk coast. Upon
visiting the house, it was immediately obvious it was a
locally important place, rooted in its immediate context
with views of the staithe and its tidal, marshy landscape.
The house had its own story to tell, a butcher shop back
in its day, and was physically combined with its adjoining
terrace into what is today known as Prospect House.
Studio 163 worked in great detail for around three years
to develop the design, work through a design which was
palatable to the local Conservation Officer and then
designing every room individually with a full interior
design package as well as key finishes such as lighting
within our scope. We co-ordinated information with
electrical, plumbing, joiners, carpenters, decorators,
plasterers and the main contractor, King & Company.
The brief was a deep retrofit, the kind where almost
everything but the shell of the building was broken down
and put back together in a different way. One which
suited a large family with different friends and family
visiting at different times of the year. A dormitory room
for the kids, a clearer circulation route through the
building but mainly reorienting the house north - where
the coast lies and the best views are enjoyed.
The clients allowed us the freedom to express ourselves
as designers yet keeping the essence of the existing house.
From the outside, aside from the new two storey gable end
it would be hard to tell anyone had been there on site for
a year and a half.
The site is within a tidal flood zone and has a history of
flooding. This informed some of the design decisions
about materiality. For example, the ground floor has a
microcement finish which has an upstand which reflects
that historical flood line as well as being a practical, robust
and waterproof material.
