Two-Family House, Cornwall

2025 RIBA South West & Wessex Award 

Two-Family House, Cornwall
Rundell Associates for private client
Contract value: Confidential
GIA: 721m²

The design of this genuine two-family home from home in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, demonstrates an intimate understanding of its highly sensitive site and coastal environment. This is perhaps unexpected for an area that has been popularly dubbed ‘Hollywood on Sea’, where properties more often seek attention and prominence. The overall volume has been sensitively positioned on the site. When viewed from the adjacent coastal path and other nearby areas, its visual impact has been minimised. 

Set into the cliffside, it has a palette of naturally raw materials and a planted roof. Externally, the mass of the building has successfully been broken down through its articulation. Rundell Associates achieved this through a lower storey of grey and brown local Cornish stonework and an upper level predominantly of timber and glass, with a copper cantilevered roof.

Internally, the finely executed and orchestrated stone, timber and plaster finishes create subtle transitions between spaces, punctuated with clear thresholds between rooms and the pivotal central hub, which houses the main stair. The plan provides a dramatic entry, with both free-flowing communal spaces for relaxing, eating and entertaining, as well as a series of wings and back-of-house spaces that provide high-quality accommodation for the owners and guests.

The framing and orientation of key views from the building have been meticulously planned. Almost devoid of signs of human habitation, they ensure privacy and also provide a uniquely personal experience of the landscape. Leading down to the beach below, the tiered landscaping of stone walls and paths established by the previous owner over many years was retained, carefully preserved throughout the construction work.

The structural choices are well thought through and sustainable, including a cross-laminated timber frame. The wood joinery, which often provides playful nooks and recesses, is effective and well executed. 

The house has very good environmental technologies including ground-source heat pumps and roof-mounted photovoltaics. Simple but with beautiful detailing, materially stunning, cleverly planned and masterfully disguised within its context, this is a technically impressive building, not just in construction resolution but also in project management.

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RIBA Regional Awards 2025 sponsored by Autodesk, EH Smith, Equitone and Velux