We have built on clifftops in Biarritz, on hillsides above the Mediterranean, and on flat coastal plains where the wind comes in uninterrupted from the Atlantic. Each site is different. What they share is a relationship with water that shapes every decision — from the orientation of the building to the specification of every fixing.
What Water Does to a Building
Salt air is corrosive. It attacks metal fixings, degrades render, and works its way into joints that would last decades in an inland climate. A building near the coast ages faster than one built in a city — unless it is designed with that in mind from the start.
Choosing materials for coastal conditions
We specify for the environment, not the catalogue. Stainless steel over galvanised. Natural stone over render where the exposure allows. Timber species selected for their resistance to moisture and movement. These decisions add cost at the specification stage. They save far more over the life of the building.
The Light Argument
There is no light like coastal light. It is the reason most of our clients want to build near water in the first place — and it is the thing that is hardest to get right.
Coastal light is not constant. It shifts with the weather, the season, and the time of day in ways that inland light does not. A room that feels perfect on a clear July morning can feel cold and grey in November. We design for the full year, not the best day.
Orientation and the view
The view and the light do not always come from the same direction. One of the most common mistakes in coastal architecture is orienting a building toward the view at the expense of solar gain. We resolve this by separating the view from the primary living spaces — using strategically placed windows, deep reveals, and covered terraces to capture both without compromising either.
Why We Keep Coming Back
Coastal projects are harder than inland ones. They take longer to permit, cost more to build, and demand more of every material and detail. We keep taking them because they produce the best architecture we know how to make. The discipline that coastal conditions impose — the precision they require, the waste they punish — makes every decision sharper. The buildings that result are better for it.
