The Sartfell Retreat nestles into a shallow hillside on the Isle of Man, its traditional drystone walls forming a continuity with the surrounding landscape and implying a strong sense of permanence and place. In fact, this is a house by the London-based practice Foster Lomas, the result of a lengthy planning process and an even more in-depth and extensive programme of restoring and enhancing the existing landscape and biodiversity.
The Retreat stands alongside an existing building, known locally as Cloud 9, and is set slightly lower down the hill and connected by a modest glazed link. Cloud 9 was included in the project and completely refurbished, inside and out, while the new building is defined by its thick drystone walls – up to 620mm in depth – which shield the interior from the landscape. A long run of ribbon windows in the main living space are set deep in the stonework, minimising solar gain but allowing low winter sun to flood into the space.
Foster Lomas has gone to enormous lengths to combine traditional material design with meticulous finishings, and the frameless glass offers up an unobstructed view of the island’s landscape. The external walls were constructed by hand, with not a stone out of place. Long-term weathering will see the house blend into the landscape, as plants and lichens merge with the stone.
A library, known as the ‘Knowledge Centre', spans the house's three levels.
Inside, the windows are juxtaposed with polished concrete floors and walls, a modest, minimal grey that lets the exterior light bounce around and change the character and quality of the space throughout the day and across the seasons. The main circulation space forms the heart of the Retreat. A perforated metal staircase winds up through three levels, flanked by a vertical library.
The staircase doubles as a ventilation stack, helping the house achieve its zero-carbon consumption, together with thick walls, green roofs and use of triple glazing, along with the thermal benefits of being set into the restored hillside. In contrast to the floors and walls, the ceiling is an intricate network of exposed joists, their intersecting angles adding a touch of geometric dynamism to the impeccably refined spaces.
The construction has gone hand in hand with re-shaping and restoring the surrounding landscape, returning levels of biodiversity through the green roofs and off-grid systems for fresh and recycled water. This private nature reserve will be further enhanced by the addition of a new Visitors’ Centre and artist’s studio, also designed by Foster Lomas, due to be completed at the turn of the next decade.
The single family residence sits on a spacious seven-acre site.
Referencing local vernacular, the structure is clad in stone.
Inside a palette of naked concrete and wood makes for a minimalist interior.
The articulated ceiling, featuring exposed concrete beams, is the living space's main ornamental element.
Long strip windows turn the gaze out to the green landscape surrounding the house.
An open-plan approach connects the different areas of the house, the living space, library and kitchen/dining.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the website of Foster Lomas
-
Will this be the world’s largest airport? Construction begins on King Salman International Airport, open by 2030Foster + Partners starts construction on its latest project, the expansion of an airport in Saudi Arabia, which could handle up to 100 million travellers a year
-
Be at one with nature at this bucolic luxury lodge in New ZealandFollowing a year-long renovation, the storied Huka Lodge in Taupō reopens its doors with a fresher, more contemporary edge, still attuned to its surroundings
-
These vintage Arne Jacobsen desks and chairs are the perfect back-to-school inspirationOriginally designed by Jacobsen for Denmark’s Munkegaard School in 1956, these desks and chairs are now available from Sigmar, the London modernist design store
-
A refreshed Fulham house balances its history with a series of 21st-century interventionsA Fulham house project by Bureau de Change creates a 21st-century domestic haven through a series of contemporary interventions and a deep connection to the property's historical fabric
-
The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
Visiting an experimental UK home: welcome to HousesteadThis experimental UK home, Housestead by Sanei + Hopkins, brings together architectural explorations and daily life in these architects’ own home
-
A house in Leamington Spa is a domestic oasis infused with contemporary sensibilitiesThis house in Leamington Spa, by John Pardey Architects, brings together flood risk considerations, a conservation area's historic character, and contemporary sensibilities
-
A garden explaining carbon capture in nature? Head to Kew in LondonKew unveils 'Carbon Garden', a new offering at London's Royal Botanic Gardens that's all about carbon capture within nature; and how plants and soil can be leveraged to help us battle climate change
-
An old war barracks is transformed into a charming Dorset Beach HouseNestled in its coastal setting, a redesigned barracks home in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty becomes a contemporary Dorset beach house by Architecture for London
-
Studio Bark has transformed a Victorian villa into an eco-friendly family homeA Victorian villa in the South of England has been overhauled with new low-energy systems and a self-build addition to create a home fit for the future
-
The inimitable Norman Foster: our guide to the visionary architect, shaping the futureNorman Foster has shaped today's London and global architecture like no other in his field; explore his work through our ultimate guide to this most impactful contemporary architect
