Pink concrete covers "fun house" on English coast by RX Architects

British studio RX Architects referenced Mediterranean beach houses when designing Seabreeze, a coastal holiday home in East Sussex that is covered in smooth pink concrete.

Located on Camber Sands beach in England, the dwelling is designed for a couple with three children who wanted to replace a house that previously occupied the site.

RX Architects has completed the coastal Seabreeze house

Provided with an open brief, Rye-based RX Architects used the opportunity to create a playful dwelling for the family with an interior that could adapt to their changing needs.

However, as the home is on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) – an area designated for conservation – the scale and massing of the home were restricted by planning guidelines that only allowed a "one for one replacement".

It is distinguished by its flush pink-concrete facade

"The intention was to create a comfortable and fun house that they could enjoy both as a couple, and with the family – as well as being adaptable as the children get older," explained the studio's founder Rob Pollard.

"They gave a very open brief which was great, however, given the very sensitive nature of the site, the overall scale and massing was limited," he told Dezeen.

The house is designed to withstand extreme weather on Camber Sands beach

Externally, Seabreeze is distinguished by its flush facade, with windows that are designed without ledges to prevent the collection of sand.

Sealed with durable microfibre concrete, which is coloured with pink pigment, the exterior helps the house to withstand high winds, moving sand and salt air.

Its colour references Mediterranean beach houses

"The neighbouring properties require significant maintenance due to the extreme weather, and the driving sand which quickly works its way into the building fabric and begins to deteriorate it," Pollard explained.

"The external material choice was selected as a way to combat this, by removing any junctions or material changes at eaves or ridge level to create an entirely sealed and wrapped facade."

Wood lines the interiors

The house is also designed without gutters, as these could get blocked by sand. Instead, water is encouraged to run off the house into the sand where it naturally drains away.

Due to the deliberately simple form of the house, RX Architects used the pink pigment in the concrete finish to soften its overall visual impact.

The main bedroom features a window seat

"We experimented with various samples, but wanted something that softened the look which could be harsh," reflected Pollard.

"The pink is reminiscent of traditional Mediterranean beach houses with their natural pink plastered elevations, and this particular colour offsets against the ever-changing sky to give both a subdued appearance on overcast days and a more vibrant appearance on brighter days."

Large expanses of glass line the living area

Inside, Seabreeze comprises an open-plan living area with large windows overlooking the beach, alongside three double bedrooms, two ensuite bedrooms and a family bathroom.

There is also a small spa, which includes a steam room, a sauna and a plunge pool.

The living area opens onto a terrace

The main bedroom is complete with a window seat, which was designed to give users the feeling that they are hovering over the beach with uninterrupted views out to sea.

This window is also positioned to perfectly frame the sea when viewed from the bed.

Read:

Extrastudio transforms Portuguese winery into house covered with rough red mortar

Like the exterior, all of the home's internal finishes are chosen to be hardwearing. However, they are also intended to offer warmth and tactility.

These include smoked oak cladding, terrazzo flooring that emulates beach pebbles and textured natural lime paint on the walls.

The house also features a plunge pool

Outside, the house is complete with a wooden deck that leads onto the sand dunes and the sea beyond.

This is partially bordered by a curving wall made from weathering steel, designed to hold back sand and protect the terrace.

The pool is overlooked by a sauna

The Seabreeze house is heated and cooled using two 90-metre-deep ground source heat pumps, along with a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system (MVHR).

According to the studio, this helps to maintain a comfortable interior environment in tandem with the thermal mass and energy efficiency of the building envelope.

Wooden finishes are teamed with white walls and terrazzo floors

RX Architects was founded in 2016 by Rob Pollard and Derek Rankin. Other projects by the studio include Druim, a house on the Rye Nature Reserve that is clad in larch and incorporated part of an unfinished building.

Other pink homes featured on Dezeen include a converted winery in Portugal by Extrastudio, a Vietnamese residence by 23o5studio with geometric openings and a townhouse in England designed by Office S&M.

The photography is by Richard Chivers.

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Project credits:

Architect: RX Architects
Contractor: Coast View Properties
Joinery: Chartwood Design
M&E: Baltic Heating
Kitchen: Portrait Kitchens
Tiles: Mandarin Stone
Sanitary Ware: Vado

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Ten modernist living rooms that celebrate minimalist open-plan interiors

Open-plan layouts, functional and adaptable furniture and minimalist designs are some of the trademarks of modernist interiors. For our latest lookbook, we've collected 10 living rooms that evoke the style.

Modernism emerged as an architectural movement in the 1930s and has influenced the pared-back appearance of many interior design projects ever since.

Among the renowned designers and architects who pioneered the style are Charles and Ray Eames, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, all of whom created designs and buildings that have become hallmarks of the trend.

For this lookbook we've taken a closer look at modernist-informed living rooms, which often feature low-slung furniture in spacious and flexible layouts, sometimes framed by large windows.

This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous lookbooks feature kitchen extensions, homes with indoor trees and purple interiors informed by Pantone's 2022 colour of the year.

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Top: photo is by Joana France. Above: photo is by Anton Gorlenko

Barbican flat, UK, by Takero Shimazaki Architects

London office Takero Shimazaki Architects renovated this apartment within the Barbican Estate, which is known for its brutalist architecture – a style that emerged in the UK in the 1950s.

Located within Shakespeare Tower, the flat intends to fuse its original design elements with Japanese aesthetics, including tatami mats on the floor that contrast with surrounding concrete walls.

"For our inspiration, we looked towards many of the early modernist Japanese architects, who were dealing with similar issues of identity when European modernism was entering Japan at rapid speed," explained the architecture practice.

Find out more about this Barbican flat ›

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Photo is courtesy of Hotel Valley Ho

Hotel Valley Ho renovation, USA, by Anissa Mendil

Originally designed by American modernist architect Edward L Varney in 1956, Hotel Valley Ho in Arizona underwent an interior transformation by local designer Anissa Mendil in more recent years.

Guest suites nod to the period in which the hotel first opened, with elements such as open-plan kitchen-living rooms that feature low-slung, pared-back furniture and functional cabinets.

Find out more about Hotel Valley Ho ›

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Photo is by Mikkel Mortensen

Villa Weinberg, Denmark, by Weinberg Architects and Friis & Moltke

Another renovation project, this 1940s cottage in Denmark was stripped back by homeowners Mette and Martin Weinberg of Weinberg Architects and fellow Danish office Friis & Moltke.

Villa Weinberg's living spaces are lined with floor-to-ceiling oil-treated oak boards that are interrupted only by large, boxy windows that add natural light to interior spaces.

Find out more about Villa Weinberg ›

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Photo is by Trevor Mein

Kew Residence, Australia, by John Wardle Architects

The founder of Australian firm John Wardle Architects reworked his Melbourne home of 25 years to include interiors clad in Victorian ash – such as bespoke, functional shelves and plinths that hold eclectic ornaments.

Framed by expansive windows, the living room at Kew Residence also features distinctive Take a Line for a Walk armchairs by product designer Alfredo Häberli in a shade of pale blue.

Find out more about Kew Residence ›

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Photo is by Kevin Scott

Whidbey Island Farm, USA, by MW Works

Comprised of three rectilinear volumes arranged around a central courtyard, Whidbey Island Farm was designed by MW Works in Washington.

The house's geometric shapes are also echoed in its interiors, which include a large, open-plan living room with soft colours and earthy finishes that overlooks a meadow where cattle graze.

Find out more about Whidbey Island Farm ›

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Photo is by Justin Chung

Biscuit Loft by OWIU Studio

A distinctive Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh Easy Chair is among the modernist design elements added to Biscuit Loft, an apartment in Downtown Los Angeles that is housed in a converted factory.

The project by local firm OWIU Studio takes cues from minimalist Asian design and features a spacious living area with functional furniture, including pared-back wooden shelving in a variety of shades.

Find out more about Biscuit Loft ›

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Photo is by Matthew Millman

Teton House, USA, by Olson Kundig

Almost panoramic in its views thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows, the living room at Teton House hosts a collection of dark-coloured geometric seating arranged around a central fireplace.

Located in Wyoming for its mountainous landscape, the residence was designed by American office Olson Kundig, which covered the facade with large wooden shutters that can be open or closed with pulleys.

Find out more about Teton House ›

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Photo is by Joana France

Brasília apartment, Brazil, by Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura

Local studio Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura created an open-plan layout in this Brasília apartment, which was originally designed by Lucio Costa and Burle Marx in the 1960s.

While the studio transformed the space by cutting open its exposed concrete walls, Debaixo do Bloco Arquitetura also took care to preserve original modernist design elements such as the granilite flooring that complements low-lying wood shelving units that wrap the living room.

Find out more about this Brasília apartment ›

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Photo is by William Zbaren

Farnsworth House, USA, by Mies van der Rohe

A notable example of modernist architecture, Farnsworth House is a rectilinear glass residence in Illinois that was completed by Mies van der Rohe in 1951.

In recent years, the house was redecorated for an installation that featured furnishings and personal belongings of the late research physician Edith Farnsworth, its original client.

Curvy woven lounge chairs and a black and white rug with a simple geometric pattern were placed in the spacious living room that overlooks the lush grounds.

Find out more about Farnsworth House ›

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Photo is by Doublespace Photography

Smith Residence, Canada, by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple

Main living spaces are accessed by a set of wide outside steps at Smith Residence, a cluster of gabled Corten steel structures by Canadian studio MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple that were designed to resemble traditional fishing huts.

The low-rise nature of the buildings allows for open-plan interior spaces, such as a living room complete with tan-brown leather sofas overlooked by a light-wood panelled ceiling.

Find out more about Smith Residence ›

This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen's image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing domestic gyms, retro green bathrooms and colourful kindergartens.

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Bennetts Associates creates cross-laminated timber sports hall in King's Cross

UK studio Bennetts Associates has used cross-laminated timber and glulam to create the lightweight King's Cross Sports Hall, which is currently being used as the Construction Skills Centre.

Set alongside Coffey Architects' 22 Handyside Street office block, to the north of King's Cross station in London, the sports centre was built three metres above a railway tunnel.

The King's Cross Sports Hall was built above three train lines

Named the King's Cross Sports Hall, the building's main space is a double-height hall that can be used as four badminton courts, a basketball court, a volleyball court or a five-a-side football pitch.

Initially, however, this space forms part of the King's Cross Construction Skills Centre, which will use the building to provide construction training and apprenticeships while its permanent home is built in nearby Euston.

A gym and fitness suite, which are open to the public, are located on the upper floor.

It was built from glue-laminated timber and cross-laminated timber

Due to the location above three Thameslink railway tunnels, the building needed to be lightweight.

Bennetts Associates therefore designed the structure from glue-laminated timber columns and cross-laminated timber panels. To allow the building to be dismantled at the end of its life, un-boltable connections were used to assemble the structure.

The main sports hall is currently being used by the Construction Skills Centre

"We designed the building to be a community facility that is welcoming, as well as being flexible, sustainable and lightweight," said Bennetts Associates director Julian Lipscombe.

"The building floats on the Victorian rail tunnels serving King's Cross so it had to be as lightweight as possible," he told Dezeen. "CLT and glulam were the best solutions for this, as well as being very low carbon and allowing longer spans."

There is a gym and fitness suite on the upper floor

The sports centre's overall form, including the sawtooth profile of its roof, was derived from the underground constraints and the choice of material.

"CLT and glulam offer a simplicity of construction technique that we embraced," said Lipscombe.

Read:

Coffey Architects recalls industrial "found spaces" for King's Cross office block

"The sawtooth mono pitches of the roof are a direct reflection of the long span beams in the sports hall that sit on cross walls spreading the load evenly onto the tunnels below," he continued.

"The engineering solution had to be incredibly lean and very finely balanced."

The building is located near King's Cross station

The building is clad in zinc as a nod to the industrial buildings that previously occupied the site.

"The roof form is not only an expression of the structural logic but also a contextual response to the Victorian railway sheds that used to occupy the site, with their intense rhythm of repeated elements," added Lipscombe.

"The dark zinc cladding allows a relatively small building to hold its own against larger neighbouring buildings."

It stands next to Coffey Architects' 22 Handyside Street office

Built as part of the redevelopment of the King's Cross, the sports hall stands next to the Coffey Architects office block that in turn sits beside the pink R7 building designed by Morris + Company. Fumihiko Maki's Aga Khan Centre completes the row of buildings.

The photography is by Hufton + Crow.

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Elton Léniz perches Casa BB on hillside overlooking Chilean lake

A black holiday home by Chilean architecture studio Elton Léniz is lifted off the ground by wooden stilts to help reduce the building's impact on the earth.

Casa BB rises up from a slender, wooded site along Lake Calafquén in southern Chile. Just beyond the lake is Villarrica, one of the country's most active volcanoes.

Elton Léniz designed the house on stilts to overlook a Chilean lake

The building serves as a vacation house for a couple with two children. Santiago-based Elton Léniz aimed to capitalise on the scenery while also providing a sense of privacy.

"The narrow proportion of the site suggested a small, vertical design that would maximise unobstructed views of the impressive geography while freeing up as much space as possible between neighbouring buildings," the team said.

A micro-perforated screen mitigates sun exposure

To reduce exposure to ground moisture and to minimise disturbance to the hillside, the team propped the house up on wooden supports.

"This compact house sits almost like a container on a wooden structure, with minimal intervention in the terrain and the slope," the team said.

Cuts and openings connect occupants to the outdoors

Facades are clad in Quadroline aluminium panels from Hunter Douglas – a low-maintenance material with simple, vertical lines.

The panels' black colour helps the home blend with the terrain.

The compact house resembles a container

On the north is a micro-perforated screen that mitigates sun exposure while preserving a visual connection with the landscape.

The home's entrance is on the south side, where a wooden walkway leads to the front door. The bottom level holds the kitchen, living room, dining area and a sheltered patio, along with a bedroom.

Read:

Casa S is an amoeba-shaped home on the coast of Chile

The social spaces are designed to flow into each other. "Living room, dining room, kitchen and barbecue-terrace are continuously articulated to allow simultaneous activities," the team said.

The main bedrooms are found on the upper level.

The house is entered via a wooden walkway

Rooms feature contemporary decor and ample use of earthy materials, including pine wood. Cuts and openings in the building enable occupants to feel connected to the outdoor setting.

"This allows one to silently confront geography and to discover new relations with the landscape from within the space," the team said.

Facades are clad in black Quadroline aluminium panels

Led by Mirene Elton and Mauricio Léniz, the firm Elton Léniz has designed a number of residential projects, including Casa El Pangue – a hillside house in Chile that offers panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.

The photography is by Cristobal Palma.

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Sara Acebes Anta completes Spanish villa with pared-back colour palette

A simple palette of white and grey brings an "atmosphere of calm" to this villa in the outskirts of Valladolid, Spain, designed by architecture studio Sara Acebes Anta.

Called Casa Banlusa, the single-storey dwelling is divided into separate wings for day and night, arranged in a U-shape around a central courtyard.

Sara Acebes Anta has completed the pared-back Casa Banlusa

It is designed by Madrid studio Sara Acebes Anta to frame views of the nearby Esgueva Valley and the Duero Canal and allow its occupants to follow the sun throughout the day.

"The project embraces the scenery around it," the studio said. "Large windows open up directly to its surroundings and frame the local pine trees."

The dwelling is divided into two wings

In the daytime block, a single open-plan space contains the living, dining and kitchen spaces. A boundary to the kitchen is created by an island unit.

The night wing opposite contains a small office and guest bedrooms, alongside the main bedroom that opens onto a small south-facing terrace.

Its exterior is finished with white fluted mortar

"The rooms are distributed in two main zones: night-time and day-time," explained the studio. "The sunrise fills the kitchen, which faces east, and the living room is oriented west to enjoy the sunset," it continued.

"On the other side of the U-shape, there are four bedrooms and two bathrooms facing west absorbing the sun rays of the last hours of the day, warming these rooms for during the night."

A courtyard sits at the centre of the house

The north side of the pared-back home features a garage and plant room containing the aerothermal heat pumps that warm the house through underfloor heating.

On Casa Banlusa's exterior, a finish of white fluted mortar creates a subtle play of light and shadow and contrasts with the greenery and planters that surround the building.

The pared-back exterior is echoed internally

"There is a subtle textural verticality counterbalancing the horizontal nature of the single-storey house which is in harmony with the landscape and the environment," said the studio.

The white exterior is broken up by windows placed rhythmically around the home, which extend to almost full height in the living room and reduce in size in the bedrooms for greater privacy.

Read:

Studio Seilern Architects aligns white villa on Paros to follow the sun

Casa Banlusa's central courtyard is finished with concrete and connects to a series of thin paved paths that wrap around the edges of the home.

These paths also link up to the terrace alongside the main bedroom and another outside the kitchen.

White walls are warmed with wooden furnishings

Inside, the muted white and grey tones of Casa Banlusa's exterior are continued, warmed by the addition of wooden furniture and fittings.

Its fluted facades have also been referenced in certain areas, such as on the kitchen counters and portions of the walls.

The fluted exterior is mirrored internally

Studio Seilern Architects also recently designed a minimal white villa and orientated it to follow the sun. Set on the Greek island of Paros, it comprises a cluster of white cube-shaped forms and is intended as a "simple luxury living environment".

Other projects near Valladolid include a white-painted villa by Escribano Rosique Arquitectos, with living spaces that extend onto a series of external patios.

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