Pagham Beach House is a renovation project of a train carriage house on the shore of Pagham, in West Sussex . The property is one of many ad hoc dwellings that were created as beach and summer homes in the early 20th Century. The original property was a meagre structure over two parallel carriages that needed significant modernisation. The concept for the project was to renovate the interiors and then wrap the carriages in a simple domestic form with a hardy external skin.
The original house was a unique surviving example of a train carriage holiday home of which only a few remain on the shores of East and West Sussex. The house is sited in the area of Pagham - a hidden gem of ad hoc developments and small dwellings amongst gravel access roads and an ever changing shore line. When we were approached by the clients to design the home, we wanted to retain the original train features and help celebrate their history but also wanted to make a statement with the exterior appearance which we felt should be tough and weathered.
The carriages were laid parallel to each other, having been dragged onto the beach over 100 years ago. The space between the carriages features the kitchen and living areas with a central fireplace. The bedrooms are then created in the carriage booths, each with a strong colour theme and appointed with antique fittings and fixtures. Elements of the orginal early 20th Century house were retained and the interiors are populated with historic items and beach finds.
The exterior is wrapped in a vertical bamboo cladding and features weathered steel detailing, in a simple gable form that addresses the beach. The house is upgraded with high levels of insulation and dark framed windows. We also created two extra smaller buildings in the rear garden with a workshop and home office space. Between these buildings the landscape of beach gravel and hardy planting has been installed to create a series of garden spaces and decking areas.
