Martello Tower Y

Private Client

Award-winning conversion of a dilapidated Napoleonic sea defence tower into a contemporary home.

Martello Tower Y
Private Client

This award-winning conversion of a dilapidated Napoleonic sea defence tower into a contemporary home is highly respectful of both heritage and setting. A Scheduled Monument in an Area of Outstanding Beauty, it took a committed multi-disciplinary team to ensure that the design vision remained intact throughout two years of complex planning negotiations.

The existing fabric, geometry, and form were key design drivers. A new lightweight curving roof extension of steel and plywood, prefabricated off-site using computer generated cutting patterns, is lightly tethered to the existing structure and set back to minimize visual impact. A deep curved skirt of frameless glass floats between old and new and provides stunning 360-degree views of the coastal landscape from within.

Details

Client:
Private Client
Location:
Suffolk Coast, UK
Type:
Residential
Gross Floor Area:
1,300 sqft
Stage:
Completed 2010

Awards

  • RIBA Award 2010
  • AJ 40 Under 40
  • BD Architect of the Year Award 2014
  • Refurbishment Architect of the Year Award, finalist
  • RIBA Manser Medal 2010, finalist
  • The Stephen Lawrence Prize 2010, finalist

Related News

  1. Prototypes and Experiments at the Aram Gallery
    3rd August
  2. Architect of the Year Awards 2016
    21st January

Project Team

  • Price & Myers, Structural Engineer
  • Norman, Disney & Young, Services Engineer
  • Billings Jackson Design, Industrial Design
  • Billings Design Associates, Façade Consultant
  • Sam Lucas, Joinery
  • Edmund Sumner, Photographer

Credits

  • Edmund Sumner
  • The Modern House