Measure to measure
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Words by Jamie Crocker
Two practices shape Cornwall’s built landscape through meticulous research and collaboration.
There is an enforced discipline in working along the Cornish coast, where land, weather and history press in like the rush of the tide, and where the margin for error is negligible. For Ian Chalk of Ian Chalk Architects and Robert Atkinson of RA Studio, that discipline has been refined through a decade of collaboration, a working relationship that draws together London and Cornwall, experience and locality, into a single method of exposition, beginning with a site that immediately elicits its own set of questions.
That shared method is evident in two projects set within the same Cornish cove: Hillside Cottage and Count House. They stand as distinct responses, shaped by the same principles yet arriving at markedly different outcomes, each one formed through analysis, dialogue and a sustained attention to the peculiarities of place. The work is not driven by a house style or a pre-determined aesthetic. It is constructed through a process that draws in archive material, physical investigation and consultation, all crucially subject to the trust of the client.
Hillside Cottage started life as a pair of nineteenth-century miners’ cottages set low into a steep incline above the north coast. The buildings had been altered without care in the late twentieth century, their fabric compromised and their relationship to the land obscured. The architects approached the site with an understanding that the existing structures carried weight, both historically and materially, and that any intervention would need to restore coherence before adding anything new. The cottages were repaired and re-roofed, their original character made legible again through careful reconstruction and the removal of poor additions.
The boldest interjection came not at the level of the cottages themselves, but above them. By walking the site with the client and reading the topography, the architects identified the upper ground as the place where the land provided the best opportunity to allow for views of the sea. From that observation grew the proposal to excavate the hillside and create a new living space at a higher level, connected to the original cottages by a carefully engineered sequence of steps and bridges. The operation required significant intervention in the ground, with the rock cut back in stages to form stable terraces for construction, yet the result reads like an organic adjustment of the land, as though it had always been this way.
The new structure, clad in timber and set into the slope, holds the principal living spaces, oriented towards the coast. Below, the original cottages contain bedrooms, their lower position providing shelter and a sense of enclosure that accords with their original purpose. The distinction between old and new is clear; the cottages are repaired with fidelity to their origins, while the addition speaks in the language of its own time. The landscape, disturbed during excavation, is rebuilt and replanted so that the buildings are absorbed into the wider setting.
From the outset, the project was shaped by the constraints of its designation within a protected landscape and a World Heritage Site. Planning policy in Cornwall demands a high level of environmental performance and a considered approach to context, and in this case those requirements informed the design from the earliest stages. Insulation, renewable energy systems and careful detailing were incorporated as part of the whole. The process involved sustained engagement with planners and specialists, a dialogue that tested the scheme and refined it over time.
Above: Hillside Cottage
If Hillside Cottage demonstrates the possibilities of working with an existing dwelling, Count House extends the approach into a more complex field of heritage and landscape. Located on the opposite side of the same cove, the site comprises the last remaining structure of a former mine, its significance obscured by later alterations that had reduced it to a rendered bungalow of questionable distinction. The project began with research, drawing on historical records and specialist input to establish the building’s identity as the count house of the former workings.
That understanding altered the course of the design. The cement render was removed in stages to reveal the stone beneath, confirming its condition and informing the decision to restore the structure. Alongside it, a former barn was reinterpreted as a sheltered courtyard, its roof reimagined in perforated weathering steel to provide protection while admitting light and air. The architects chose to keep the primary buildings prominent within the landscape, reinstating their form and detail so that their role within the former industrial site could be appreciated once again.
Additional accommodation was required, yet the approach avoided any overt extension of the historic structures. Instead, new elements were inserted into the land behind, with bedrooms and living spaces set into excavated spaces and covered by a deep green roof that reinstates the garden above. From a distance, the profile of the site remains largely unchanged, the new work concealed within the regraded ground.
The design of Count House was developed over two and a half years through a sequence of pre-application discussions and consultations with planners, conservation officers and World Heritage representatives. Each stage involved testing ideas against the realities of the site, from ground contamination left by mining to the structural capacity of the existing buildings. The process required patience and a willingness to adapt, with the scheme evolving through continuous dialogue.
Above: Count House
Central to both projects is the relationship between the two practices. Ian Chalk Architects brings a broader portfolio of work with bases in London and Bristol, while RA Studio contributes detailed local knowledge as well as being able to offer an immediate presence on site if required. The collaboration allows for continuity across scales and locations, with design led jointly and supported by a network of consultants chosen for each project. Engineers, heritage specialists and historians are brought into the process as needed, their input integrated into the overall approach.
This method extends into the construction phase, where the selection of contractors is treated as part of the design process. The architects and clients visit completed projects, assess the quality of workmanship and consider the character of those who will carry out the work. In a region where building on steep, sensitive sites demands specific expertise, this careful matching of team to project is essential. It ensures that the intentions of the design are understood and realised on the ground.
Underlying the work is a clear view of sustainability that encompasses both environmental performance and the stewardship of existing buildings. The reuse and repair of historic fabric is treated as a primary act, one that carries both cultural and material value. At the same time, new elements are designed to meet current standards of energy efficiency, with passive design principles, renewable energy systems and high levels of insulation integrated into the fabric of the buildings. The Count House, in fact, achieves net zero carbon emissions.
The projects also reflect a broader ambition to engage with different forms of housing and community. While much of the work described here sits at the higher end of the residential market, the same principles are being applied to more modest schemes, including proposals for local and affordable housing. The intention is to bring the same level of care and thought to these projects, recognising that the long-term health of Cornish communities depends on a range of housing types.
Hillside Cottage and Count House stand as evidence of a practice that proceeds by understanding before action. They demonstrate how careful collaboration and a measured response can produce architecture that sits convincingly within a demanding landscape.
