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Coastal House

Sat on a shingle ridge overlooking the North Sea, The Shanty has expansive views across the East Suffolk coast and sweeping shoreline to Aldeburgh.

The construction draws from the nearby picturesque holiday village – Thorpeness – built at the turn of the twentieth century by landowner and playwright Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie.

Taking inspiration from the shingle aggregate blockwork of the original village construction, The Shanty is enveloped in deep timber framed walls, hand dressed in exposed aggregate, connecting the building to the unique landscape setting.

Exposed timber joists articulate the interior spaces taking reference from nearby self-build fishing huts, with internal spaces organised around a staggered central enfilade. The exposed rafters extend as eaves, lifting the roof from the top of the external walls to create the illusion of a lightweight roof form that appears to float over the house.

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James Gorst’s work has helped to heal one of the most unnecessary and painful wounds in contemporary British architecture: between the traditionalists and the modernists. Like Louis Kahn in the United States or Peter Zumthor in Switzerland, Gorst reminds us that modernism can be beautifully reconciled with the underlying principles of classicism and that modern materials and idioms can carry all the elegance, dignity and grandeur associated with historical masterpieces.

Alain de Botton

© 2023 James Gorst Architects. All rights reserved.

Design: Tom Green Design. Build: Designagogo.