Shuruuq: Award winning family home
Set on the cliffs of Guernsey, Shuruuq is a stunning new-build family home that earned recognition as the Guernsey Design Award 2022 winner for Residential New Build.
When we began this project, our aim was to showcase thoughtful design and a seamless connection with the landscape.
The brief was to replace an outdated bungalow with a modern 4-bedroom family home. While the original house was no longer fit for purpose, parts of it were salvaged and reused. Working within planning restrictions and a covenant on the ridge height and footprint size, we designed a home that respects its sensitive location, and that integrated a contemporary yet functional home harmoniously into its cliffside setting.
Our aim was to showcase thoughtful design and a seamless connection with the landscape
The home is tailored to the evolving needs of the family, including features such as a large kit room, wet room, and outdoor shower designed around their active, outdoors lifestyle. The upper floor is designed to capture framed views of nature, with sunrise and sea views from the main living and kitchen spaces. The master bedroom and terrace offer a ‘tree-house’ feel, overlooking the valley.
We chose natural materials such as western red cedar cladding and Purbeck stone walling to complement the sloping terrain and the split-level structure. The lower floor, stone-clad, forms a solid base that blends into the landscape, while the timber-framed upper floors appear to rest gently on the land.
A standout feature of Shuruuq is the openable cantilevered corner, which creates a seamless connection between the main living spaces and the sloping garden, giving the upper eastern corner a sense of reaching toward the sea and sunrise.
We are thrilled to have been part of this award-winning project, creating a bespoke family home that celebrates its unique setting on the Guernsey cliffs.
Featured in the Autumn 2021 edition of Guernsey Property & Construction magazine: Read more here.
Photography by Nick Despres & Pierre Bisson