Design Buy Build Issue 32 2018 | Page 12

Located on a peninsula, construction on site was not a simple task, however designing the house out of lightweight elements provided ease of transportation down a narrow access road in a transit van. Gaining access close to the water’s edge was a challenge and as the site is liable to flooding, the ground floor of the home had to be elevated to accommodate changes in water levels. As the house is built atop unstable materials, the house’s foundations were piled down 10m to the chalk rock layer. The piles support a grillage of galvanised steel ground beams elevated above the high water mark. This limited the use of concrete and reduced the time on site required to form the substructure, allowing the early 12