Norvegian studio Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects (JVA) has designed the Dune House in collaboration with Mole Architects, a vacation home located just to the south of Thorpeness, a village in Suffolk, England. Completed in 2011, the Dune House accommodates up to 9 people and can be booked all year round, starting from £760 for a 4-night break.
To get a planning permission it was important to relate to the existing, typical, British seaside strip of houses. The roofscape, the bedroom floor, somehow plays with the formal presence of these buildings, and also brings into mind a romantic remembrance of holidays at bed- and breakfasts while traveling through the UK. The ground floor is contrasting this by its lack of relationship to the architecture of the top floor. The living area and the terraces are set into the dunes in order to protect it form the strong winds, and opens equally in all directions to allow for wide views. The corners can be opened by sliding doors; this will emphasize the floating appearance of the top floor. While the materiality of the ground floor; concrete, glass, aluminum, relates to the masses of the ground, the upper floor is a construction made of solid wood, cladding stained dark as the existing gables and sheds found in the area.
