Perched high above the beaches of the Gower Peninsula, Maich Swift Architects’ Rhossili House is an elegant fusion of traditional forms and minimalist architecture details; a wooden house informed by its context.
This part of South Wales is wild and rugged, with a long history of settlement and agriculture. Although the coastline is beautiful, it is also subjected to strong winds and treacherous currents – many ships have foundered in Rhossili Bay over the centuries.
Maich Swift Architects’ task was to face up to this scenic but demanding landscape with a house that served as both sculpture and sanctuary. The village of Rhossili and its surroundings have been part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1956, the very first such designation in the whole of the British Isles.
As a result, there was extra scrutiny on the design, which occupies a prominent clifftop site at the edge of the village. As well as consolidating and incorporating two existing outbuildings, the bulk of the project involved the construction of a new solid timber house.
Superficially, the new house bears a strong resemblance to the white-walled, pitched-roofed vernacular that has been built along this stretch of coastline for centuries. The London-based architects undertook a forensic examination of the surrounding properties and their designs.
However, Rhossili House’s façade is shaped entirely by the interior configuration, which in turn was directed by the stunning western views out to sea and up the coast to the north.
On the elevation facing the sea, large frameless windows make the most of the views, while the rear of the house is defined by a sequence of smaller, uniformly sized square windows and rooflights. A top-lit central stair core forms the heart of the house, with four bedrooms and a bathroom on the upper floor, three of which have dual aspects.
The top floor ceilings are all taken up into the roof slope to create generous spaces, with dark timber flooring and lighter panelled ceilings. Downstairs, a grand living/dining room has a run of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean, 70m below.
The building was constructed using solid spruce cross-laminated timber, with a lime render finish and aluminium windows and detailing. These natural materials are not only breathable and robust but provide high levels of insulation, so that an air source heat pump can provide all the house’s energy needs.
The building’s strong environmental performance and sympathetic appearance helped the architects navigate the 57 planning constraints applied to the site – the process to get permission for the project took two years. After all that, the actual final erection of the frame took just three weeks, before the pandemic closed the site down for yet another lengthy delay.
Inside, there is custom-built furniture to match the purity of the design, with details like skirtings and door surroundings kept deliberately low key. In addition to the refurbished outbuildings, a new timber-frame garage was added, as well as a viewpoint, defined by a ribbon of white walls, that juts out over the wild landscape.
INFORMATION
-
Aesop’s Salone del Mobile 2024 installations in Milan are multisensory experiencesAesop has partnered with Salone del Mobile to launch a series of installations across Milan, tapping into sight, touch, taste, and scent
-
Dial into the Boring Phone and more smartphone alternativesFrom the deliberately dull new Boring Phone to Honor’s latest hook-up with Porsche, a host of new devices that do the phone thing slightly differently
-
Berlinde De Bruyckere’s angels without faces touch down in Venice churchBelgian artist Berlinde De Bruyckere’s recent archangel sculptures occupy the 16th-century white marble Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore for the Venice Biennale 2024
-
Modernist architecture: inspiration from across the globeModernist architecture has had a tremendous influence on today’s built environment, making these midcentury marvels some of the most closely studied 20th-century buildings; check back soon for new additions to our list
-
Timber-framed Wimbledon house is a minimalist, low-energy affairA new timber-framed Wimbledon house is designed to blend into its traditional surroundings with a neat brick façade, careful massing and pared back interiors
-
London Science Museum’s Energy Revolution gallery champions sustainable exhibition designThe Energy Revolution gallery opens at London’s Science Museum, exploring decarbonisation through sustainable exhibition design by Unknown Works
-
This South Downs house stands as a testament to the value of quiet refinementAt one with the landscape, a South Downs house uses elements of quintessential country villas and midcentury gems with modern technologies
-
Ash Tree House offers a contextual approach to a north London siteAsh Tree House by Edgley Design is a modern family home in a north London conservation area's backyard site
-
In memoriam: John Miller (1930-2024)We remember John Miller, an accomplished British architect and educator who advocated a quiet but rigorous modernism
-
River Wing at Clare College responds to its historic Cambridge heritageUniversity of Cambridge opens its new River Wing on Clare College Old Court, uniting modern technology with historic design
-
Camden Workshop offers flexible family space in a transformed north London warehouseCamden Workshop, a transformed industrial space in north London, was designed by architects McLaren Excell to combine residential space and a creative studio for its owners
