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A bright and contemporary bespoke build by the Cornish seaside

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With the installation of 11 VELUX roof windows, the owners, Tim and Sarah, benefited from additional daylight in the centre of the building and enhanced air circulation.

When Tim and Sarah spotted a bungalow for sale in their favourite Cornish seaside spot, they knew they had to have it. They’d visited the site many times over the years with their two children. But their vision of a forever home by the sea did not include the bungalow itself.

After purchasing the St Mawes property, they knocked it down and decided to build their own home. They enlisted Märraum Architects to design a distinct and breathtaking family house that would maximise the use of natural daylight, space and orientation and reflect their passion for design.

Challenging site for the architects

Adam Laskey, project architect for Märraum, explained, “The site fell within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and bordered a conservation area. This made it more challenging to design a contemporary building and, unfortunately, our initial proposals met some local resistance.”

During the planning decision process, Märraum had to reduce the external glazing which ultimately affected how the building received light and provided views out. This made the roof windows a hugely important element in the design. To overcome these challenges, Märraum included wide aspect windows alongside an intricately designed roof window system, which helped draw in and capture more natural light in the upper storey. This created a lofty and expansive space while minimising intrusion on the surrounding dwellings.

Main benefits of getting VELUX roof windows

  1. 15-20% more daylight:  With the installation of 11 VELUX roof windows, the owners benefited from additional daylight in the centre of the building and enhanced air circulation.

  2. Maximum control of the indoor environment:  The roof windows were also fitted with the innovative VELUX INTEGRA® roof window system meaning the windows could be operated at the touch of a button, affording them total control of the indoor climate.

  3. Accentuating the design:  The variety of VELUX roof windows complement the unique ceiling structure, making it look and feel so much bigger and brighter. 
Enhanced perception of height

The use of VELUX roof windows in the project gave the family an enhanced perception of height. Due to planning restrictions, the architects needed to keep the roofline low. The living space has eaves as low as 1.5m, so the addition of roof windows provided expansive views of the sky above, which significantly increased the feeling of height and influx of light within the room.

Overall, Clearwater is an incredibly social building, designed to maximise space through natural light without losing its intimate family atmosphere. Through the combination of VELUX roof windows and full height glazed door openings on the gables, the home feels spacious and light, and makes the most of the Cornish seaside views.

"The house is just lovely, I can't tell you how much we are enjoying living here!"
- Sarah, homeowner

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