Architecture
Where woodland meets coast.
Dry Creek House
Dry Creek House sits above the Polzeath Valley on the North Cornish coast, where open coastal views meet the shelter of woodland slopes. From its elevated position, the home looks outward to the sea and inward to the quiet of the valley. Designed to be highly sustainable and to sit lightly within its setting, it responds to a site that is both dramatic and sensitive.
The Brief
The clients wanted a home that could embrace the extraordinary views while responding carefully to a steep, overlooked brownfield site. Privacy, orientation, and a strong relationship to the landscape were central to the brief. They sought a building that turned toward the woodland rather than neighbouring houses, with calm, refined interiors suited to coastal living and a design approach rooted in sustainability.
Our Response
The house is set into the slope, turning its focus toward the woodland valley and away from nearby properties. A gently cranked plan frames the panorama from the main living spaces, while a simple terrace extends the interior outward, softening the threshold between inside and out. The cantilevered upper level reaches into the tree canopy, creating a sense of immersion in the surrounding woodland and the rookery below. To the west, a colonnaded timber verandah overlooks meadow planting, offering shelter and a subtle rhythm that complements the vertical timber façade.
The lower ground floor is robust and functional, with exposed in‑situ concrete expressing the structural grid and accommodating a workshop, utility spaces, and a cinema. A timber‑lined stair leads to the upper pavilion, where maple, polished concrete, and crisp white walls create a calm, restrained interior. Externally, expressed timber fins give the building a pavilion‑like quality, catching light and shadow throughout the day. The result is a home that sits quietly within its landscape - modern, rooted, and in gentle dialogue with the valley and coast around it.
