River front house | Boat house | Contemporary

We were invited to prepare concept designs for a new house / boat house on the River Thames. The proposed building sits directly over the existing footprint to maximise the full width of the site. This created a generous front garden whilst along the rear of the house formed a close connection with the river.

The form was driven by the surrounding views of the river and orientated to maximize solar gain. To give a distinct contrast between the heavy weight ground floor and lightweight first floor, a simple pallet of materials was chosen. White glazed terracotta tubes were selected to provide solar protection whilst grey concrete stone panels are used on the base to provide solid visual at ground level. Finely crafted steel frame structure was used to minimise construction period and cost. All this would rest on a floating floor slab as a response to the flood risk condition of the site.

The proposal is a 4 bedroom 300m2 house with an open plan living space at ground. Connected to the rear of the house is a single storey boat house able to store a 25ft x 6ft boat.