Medina House

An environmentally sustainable family home is situated on the site of a former Victorian women’s bathhouse on Hove’s beachfront esplanade. Our design honours the building’s original form, including a playful Dutch gable and bonnet arched windows, while subtly reimagining its proportions for the client, a musician and writer couple. The ground floor features a lofty living space with transverse barrel vaults echoing the arches of the original bathhouse. A range of living spaces, including a study, library, music room, writing room, and six bedrooms are arranged across the home’s three-stories, which include stepped and half levels, to enhance connectivity, and the building’s sea and sky aspect. New exterior walls built from chalky-white Roman brick are reminiscent of the stratified cliffs along the Sussex coastline and reflect shifting light and weather conditions. Deep window reveals, and corbelled brick arches highlight the interplay between the building’s robust sculptural form and its rich materiality. A newly constructed rear wing helps to enclose an elevated walled courtyard, offering a seamless outdoor social space in the summer months. A triptych of windows shields from the prevailing south-westerly winds while framing ever-changing sea vistas. Beneath, a sunken covered outdoor lounge with clerestory windows features original Moorish-style faïence bathhouse tiles, preserved in situ. Doorways, windows and shutters are made of pale, saltwater-resistant timber to ensure durability, while natural ventilation and a low-energy ground-source heat pump ensure the home’s ongoing low carbon energy performance. “It abounds with references, but is courageous and contemporary” – Isabelle Priest, RIBAJ 2023