ARCO2 are pleased to announce that Waterhouse overlooking the Camel Estuary has won a 2020 Cornish Buildings Group Award, the announcement of which has been delayed due to the pandemic. The judges describe the design as follows:
“This dramatic new house sits on an elevated site overlooking the upper reaches of the Camel Estuary. It has been designed with the aim of capitalising on the stunning views of the Estuary that the site affords, whilst not imposing itself aggressively within the landscape. These competing challenges have been balanced well. The main living areas of the house provide very good vantage points from which to see the view through enormous windows but the dark materials and recessive design of the Estuary facing front, combined with the house’s very low profile and alignment with a pre-existing hedge mean that the house is not at all prominent when viewed across the river. The house has been built to Passivhaus principles and deploys other high environmental techniques, including the use of ground source heat pumps and wildflower roofs.
The layout of the house is well composed, with bedrooms arranged along the back of the house, serviced by a top lit corridor which doubles as a picture gallery. An archway through the main form signals the main entrance of the house and affords access for vehicles to a rear courtyard which means that parked cars do not interrupt the stunning views from the main front of the house. Overall the judges thought that Waterhouse is a fine addition to Cornwall’s built environment which will be well regarded for many years to come.”
