Modern Silver House

Swansea-based architecture firm Hyde + Hyde created the Silver House for a family who moved from London to Wales in search of a peaceful life and a closer connection to nature.

The design of the building aims to optimize visibility while at the same time referring to the local architecture of the region. The layered bumps have a horizontal emphasis, with bands of different materials dividing the total volume. A stone plinth with bedrooms on the ground floor forms a solid base for the wood-clad upper floor.

The material language of the ground floor corresponds to the medieval tradition of dry stone walls in the region. Portal windows to the bedrooms on the ground floor cantilever over a reflective pool that collects rainwater from the roofs above. A recording studio in the basement receives natural light through the reflective pool that flanks the house.

The first floor houses the main living rooms and a master bedroom. At this level, the building splits into two different shapes with mono roofs that respond to the driving winds and rain that come from the canal. The division of the upper floor is underlined by the central arrangement of an external staircase, which leads from a paved outdoor terrace and terrace to an entrance between the two rooms on the first floor.

The volume of the bedroom is lined on one side with a full-height window facing west, while the south-facing living area and the adjoining balcony are protected under a sloping roof that faces the sea.

Internally, the house is configured in such a way that it is optimally exposed to the changing daylight conditions during the day. A kitchen on the east end of the upper floor receives morning light that runs through the south-facing living area before offering sunset views from the master bedroom.