Chalfont House, East Sussex Building, Architecture Project, Images, Design
Chalfont House near Rye Nature Reserve
Sustainable Building in East Sussex, England ? design by RX Architects
14 Feb 2018
Chalfont House
Location: East Sussex
Design: RX Architects
Chalfont House

The property is directly adjacent to Rye Nature Reserve, one of the most important conservation sites in Britain. The site is formed of undulating shingle deposits formed as the sea receded over centuries.

The existing property was a small 2 room bungalow with a collection of sheds in various states of disrepair connected to the bungalow. It was not possible to refurbish the existing building and hence our brief was to create a modern building that responded to the unique context of the nature reserve. The site looks out across the reserve to the Mary Stanford Lifeboat building. This is a grade 2 listed building constructed in 1882 in pre-cast shingle based concrete, a pioneering construction method in its time. The lifeboat station plays a large part in the cultural heritage of the nature reserve hence a key design move was to echo the vernacular shape of the Lifeboat building while using modern methods of construction. Traditional architectural elements such as gutters and eaves have been removed or concealed to allow crisp clean detailing that emphasises the primary form.
Other local heritage structures that influenced the design are the concrete pill boxes found around the reserve. Slot like...