Deepstone

The house is located in the village of Portling on a spectacular site overlooking the Solway Firth.  The site is a steeply sloping, former quarry in a national scenic area which slopes steeply in two directions from the quarry base which forms the only ground level access.

The house is conceived as a stone plinth which echoes the exposed quarry face and houses the bedrooms with a garage & entrance under the level of the quarry base.  The principal living accommodation is expressed as a lightweight glazed ‘pavilion’ sitting on the solid plinth.  It is set back to form an external terrace facing the sea and to reduce the apparent mass of the house.

The glazed pavilion is constructed with a steel frame and highly insulated timber infill panels clad in cedar and triple glazed windows.  The roof, although thick internally to provide very high levels of insulation, is cantilevered on all sides with projecting expressed Douglas fir rafters to give a thin, elegant leading edge.  The roof is finished in standing seam pre-fabricated grey zinc.  The masonry base is finished in stone from recycled quarry waste.

The design uses the most energy efficient construction & technology where possible as part of a sustainable approach to building for the future.