Pentrans | New Build Stone House
Llanddona, Anglesey, 2017
​
Llanddona beach is a hidden gem on Anglesey, only really known by locals. You have to travel down a steep narrow road to reach it, but when you do, the views that meet you are breath-taking. The site is very special, just being a few steps from the beach. The original house had been battered by sea-winds over many years and was beyond repair. Therefore, we decided to replace it with a new dormer-style house, which is in keeping with the local vernacular.
The house resides in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and had to meet a rigorous set of criteria to achieve planning approval. The design looks to balance the contemporary with the traditional, so that the building feels of its time, but compliments the other houses along the beach road too. The choice of materials had to be hardy to manage the exposed conditions of the site. We implemented deeper overlaps on the Welsh slate for the roof and used stone from local quarries to build the walls.
The layout of the house is flipped upside-down from the traditional, with four bedrooms on the ground floor and the living accommodation on the first floor. Our client wanted to enjoy the best views from the spaces the family spent most of their time. We designed the dormers with doors, rather than windows, so they each lead out onto the terrace balcony and can be left fully opened in the summer.
The landscaping has been an important aspect of the project. A corten-steel water feature cascades down from the house to the pond. The planting of local flora creates small habitats around the home to encourage local wildlife. The same stone as the house has been used on the garden walls and will protect the property if there are floods in the future.
