Andrew and Nilu’s lovely coastal new-build in Pagham, near Chichester in West Sussex was designed by their architect-trained daughter, Jhila.
The Pagham landscape is dotted with single storey properties of varied design. On the Beach Estate, many have morphed from holiday homes created before the first world war out of disused railway carriages – venture behind the bungalow exteriors and you can find perfectly preserved third class carriages and sleeper cars.
The village’s strategic location meant that it also played its part during the second world war and, to this day, low tide reveals a concrete Mulberry Harbour caisson. This is a place of inter-tidal saltmarshes, lagoons, shingle banks and a dizzying network of unadopted roads. Put the yellow Google Streetview man down on a map of Pagham and nothing’s doing.
‘We had friends in the area and they loved it,’ says Andrew. ‘When we stayed with them, we saw what they meant and, when a plot became available, we decided to buy.’
That plot came with an old, and now demolished, building – a second world war wooden military hut cum 1940s wood-framed bungalow. ‘It had poor quality extensions front and back,’ says Andrew, ‘very poor insulation and was dark, damp and rat infested!’
The design brief was to build a holiday home. ‘As it would be something not built out of necessity, it was important to us to build with the least negative environmental impact possible, both in terms of construction and use,’ says Andrew. ‘We went for a straw bale construction, which allowed us to use locally sourced natural materials integrated with a timber frame, which is considered a regenerative material.’
The straw provides excellent insulation in summer and winter, good acoustic quality and sound insulation between rooms and keeps the place breathable and comfortable.
Other natural materials include a wood frame, a clay and straw cob lining, lime render and a limewash finish. ‘All make for an exceptionally low carbon footprint: carbon negative for construction and very low for ongoing energy use,’ says Andrew. ‘The straw and clay were sourced a few miles from the site and the floor finish is linoleum.’
Jhila designed the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home as two single storey buildings in keeping with the character of the neighbourhood: a main, one-bedroom house with ensuite, entrance hall, open plan kitchen, dining and living space, and WC and utilities; and a two-bedroom annexe with bathroom.
‘Most of the time it’s just Nilu and me so we only needed one bedroom in the main house,’ says Andrew. ‘When we have family or friends to stay, they’re in the annexe and we all have our privacy and separate bathrooms. It also means we don’t need to heat spaces when they are not being used.’
Straw bale buildings tend to have very thick walls reminiscent of older construction methods and are usually coupled with small and few windows. ‘At Pagham we used the latest window technologies and careful placement to give the home a striking and contemporary feel ,’ explains Jhila, ‘and that’s unusual for a straw build.’
Andrew and Nilu wanted secure, double glazed, timber-framed windows and doors. On Jhila’s recommendation, they chose the Rationel AURA range in Beige Grey for its quality, price and finish. The colour is soft and natural-looking in keeping with the ethos of the design. Supply and installation were by local distributor Westcott Architectural Glazing.
Both buildings have lots of light thanks to the varying window and door openings that appear in unexpected places and formats.
At the front of the house, a tall narrow fixed light, glazed front door and mirrored skylight bring light into the entry space and the central and darkest part of the building. For privacy, the main bedroom has a long narrow fixed light with a small, separate opening pane.
Long skylights connect the hallway to the living space at the back of the house and there are clerestory-style openings at the top of a dining area wall. Jhila put a double casement window at each end of the open-plan living space. This allows the light to come into the dining area in the morning and brings the sunset from across the lagoon through the kitchen window in the evening.
‘We love it,’ says Andrew. ‘It’s the sunniest place in the UK. It’s peaceful, the air is fresh, the skies are huge and the home Jhila has designed for us makes the most of all those things.’
Product information
Range: Rationel AURA – Timber
