Outstanding low carbon architecture in a unique and unspoilt environment, Rocky Lane lies within a UNESCO World Heritage Site overlooking Trevaunance Cove, St Agnes.

Rocky Lane, St Agnes, Cornwall.

With an innate ability to empathize with landscape and place, internationally acclaimed architect Joel Turkel carefully considered the outstanding natural beauty and rich history of the surrounding area in developing designs for Rocky Lane.

Architecture that embraces new ideas and regenerative technology, these homes retain a sense of place and presence in the site as a whole, whilst directly communicating with their own specific location on the site.

Visit the project website at:
www.rockylanecornwall.com

Turkel Design

Turkel Design was founded In 2007, by US based husband and wife team, Joel and Meelena Turkel. both of whom have masters of architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Joel, a recipient of the Marvin E. Goody prize in Architecture for his work on prefabricated residential building systems, has served as the Creative Director of Empyrean Architecture Planning and Fabrication from 1999 to 2007. There, he played a key role in several major initiatives including the development of the Dwell Homes by Empyrean, and created NextHouse, a series of prefabricated modern homes still marketed by the Dwell brand.

Meelena has studied in Canada, Switzerland, and the USA, and was a leading participant in several major design initiatives, including: a straw-bale construction venture providing housing for migrant farm workers in Virginia.

www.turkeldesign.com

Watermark Clean Up at the UK Property Awards

Watermark walked away from this years UK Property Awards with no less than four awards for the highly successful Landings project, including Best UK Development, and Best Development Gloucestershire. Joining Managing Director Simon Blackburn at the celebrations in London, was chairman of the Watermark group, Max Thomas. The other awards being Best Property Gloucestershire, and Best Property Marketing.

International Property Awards 2007

Finalist: Best International Development
The Landings, UK by Watermark

UK Property Awards 2007

Best UK Development
The Landings, Gloucestershire by Watermark

Best Development Gloucestershire
The Landings by Watermark

Best Property Gloucestershire
The Vermont by Watermark

Best Property Marketing
Watermark

“When we first saw the cover of the Deckhouse blurb, we immediately thought “Wow – can we really have a house like that?”, and now here it is.”

Jennifer and Ian McCallum’s 5300sq ft Deck House in Mere, Wiltshire.

Having lived in a “Georgian pile” for nearly three decades, Ian and Jennifer McCallum were fed up with never ending problems such as damp and wet rot, not to mention the drafts that whistled through their 18th century house in Winter. “After 25 years we were ready for a fresh start, but we needed a house that would fit our unusual circumstances,” says Ian, 63.

In 2001, they visited a completed Deck House in West Sussex but they had already fallen for the photograph on the front of the Deck House brochure – an image that shows a house with a soaring double-height interior. This contemporary Deck House Homestead was to become the model on which their own 5300sq ft Deck House is based.

After a two year search for land, the couple bought a one-acre green field site with planning permission for £250K in 2003. The plot backs on to a 15th century manor house and its garden of mature trees.

“We were immediately drawn to the vast open space with lovely windows, soaring ceilings and wood all over the place,” explains Ian. “Our large open-plan living area features 6.5 metres of double-height space. Visually, this offers so much freedom.”

Construction began in the spring of 2004 and at the end of May, five containers arrived containing the house’s superstructure and internal joinery. “We had a totally smooth UK import all handled effortlessly by email and phone,” says Ian. “The company has been immensely supportive.”

“It is truly the most amazing house, and we are so pleased with it. We’ve two big chairs set up in the huge window so we can watch The world go by in the sun – wonderful! When we first saw the cover of the Deckhouse blurb, we immediately thought “Wow – can we really have a house like that?”, and now here it is.”

“We are lucky to have the most wonderful, fantastic location, and we wanted a house that we thought was equally wonderful and fantastic.”

Celia and Howard Gough‘s 2735sq ft Deck House in Lyme Regis, Dorset.

For many years, Celia Gough was drawn to the idea of converting a barn but it was the double-height aesthetic and the flexibility of such a space, rather than its rustic charm, that had captured her imagination.

Celia and Howard brought their 1/3 acre site in 1998 for £185K and demolished the existing bungalow, after obtaining planning permission for their Deck House in February 2004. Says Howard: “We are lucky to have the most wonderful, fantastic location, and we wanted a house that we thought was equally wonderful and fantastic.”

The couple were constrained, however, by a planning requirement for the replacement house to sit within the existing footprint of the demolished structure. The Deck House architect’s solution was to cut the house into the hill to increase the height of the interior. This enabled the creation of a stunning minstrels gallery overlooking the main living area and leading off towards the four upstairs bedrooms. “We’ve also made some little lofts for storage and for small people to creep into by ladder to have fun.”

“The kit turned up in June that year in five 40 ft containers and was decanted with cranes,” explains Celia. “It went up very quickly, the walls were ready to receive the roof in just 15 days or so.”

The double-glazed, argon-filled window units have an aluminium exterior with wood within, and were designed to be as maintenance free as possible given the site’s exposure to South-Westerly gales.

“Deck House has given us marvellous double-height windows allowing you to soak up the wonderful view across a National Trust field full of sheep towards the Jurassic Coast of Lyme Bay.”

The Landings

Our largest development to date – The Landings – is part of The Watermark, a tranquil and select second home complex spread over six lakes and some 500 acres of land. The fully managed estate offers a vast range of leisure facilities including it’s own fishing lakes, water-skiing club, sailing lakes, tennis courts and a health and fitness club, as well as three golf club associations.

The Landings is a tranquil and exclusive development within the Watermark, of just 46 houses set on it’s own vast sailing lake (140 acres). This lake is just one of the 132 lakes that make up the Cotswold Water Park, a designated area of Outstanding Beauty, and a nature reserve. Local amenities are but a short walk to the pretty village of South Cerney, or five miles away is the historic market town of Cirencester.

We are presently constructing a further 50 units at Watermark, if you would like more information on thi project please call the sales team direct on 01285 869031 you can also visit the website:

www.the-landings.co.uk

Prototype Housing

This house was designed by Joel Turkel an MIT architect we have and continue to work very closely with.

The Dwell NextHouse Model Home is a 5000 square foot, light-filled modern structure on a 13-acre site. The home has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and a kitchen/dining/living area with adjoining decks on the main level, family room and office. It includes unique design elements such as a secret loft above the Master Bedroom, a special screened deck off of the main level living room and large windows that show off the beautiful forest-like setting surrounding the home. It also incorporates Green elements and features cutting-edge design and products, furniture and accessories inside the home.

Formed from a simple volume and excavated to allow for ample light and ventilation, this house has been specifically designed to maximize volume and minimize exterior surface, thus reducing material use and heating and cooling needs.

The gallery above the living room simultaneously creates privacy and openness while providing regular access to exterior views through the day-to-day use of this space. Below the gallery, the suspended wall of glass is completely operable, allowing the entire living room to open to the outdoor terrace. A motorized insect mesh descends from the gallery above to transform the living volume into one large screened area. The double-height volume of the master suite floats amidst the trees, while a hidden staircase leads to the loft-office, forming a canopy above the bed.

We provide pre-engineered architect designed homes for commercial and private developments

Living Structures design, develop and construct residential and community buildings, and commercial properties. We can provide as few or as many of these services depending on the requirements of the client, making us a very flexible choice for a variety of projects.

Multi Unit Developments

As well as the multi-award winning Watermark development in the Cotswolds we are currently working on a holiday home site located in St.Agnes Cornwall, like the Watermark project this development will be of high end holiday homes but with a very contemporary aesthetic combined with real ecological endeavor. As well as providing design, manufacture and construction capabilities we have the knowledge and experience to advise on many other issues which contribute to making your development a success.

Bespoke Homes

While we have catalogues of many house-types and model “families” it is vary rare for a client to purchase a house off the shelf. More often we are working with your particular programmatical requirements and design references together with our architects and as importantly your site to design a home which works for you both logically and aesthetically.