Traditional locally sourced building materials and workmanship combine with cutting edge structural design and environmental technology in Yeates Design + Architecture’s River House. The house, which is located on a site overlooking Chichester Harbour and in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, is arranged around a large, open plan living space. At its southern end, double height glazing around the front entrance door allows sunlight deep into the plan. To the north, a 7.5 metre wide sliding glass corner opens onto a terrace with panoramic views of the landscape. At the heart of the sun-filled space is a structural glass staircase with solid oak treads, designed in association with Barton Engineers. Secondary living spaces are in the more private east and west wings. For the design, the architect made good use of the skills of joinery and carpentry specialism of Sussex builder Nicholas Coppin. The house has brick and flint walls, a modern interpretation of the local Sussex vernacular, with oak-framed windows made by Coppin. The upper parts of the house are clad in English sweet chestnut, which will weather in time to a silver grey colour. The clients wanted the home to use sustainable materials, and the chestnut cladding and shingle roof are locally sourced and sustainable. Passive measures were developed using computer modelling of sunlight, so the house captures abundant warmth and light in winter and has large overhanging eaves to provide shade and cool in summer. Heating and hot water for the house are provided by a ground source heat pump system by Swedish manufacturer IVT. In summer the system runs in reverse to provide cooling. Finishing touches include a sprayed-marble sound absorbent ceiling in the open plan living space, to limit noise in an area that has many hard finishes.
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