Porthmadog Residence

Porthmadog Residence is a minimalist coastal home located in Porthmadog, Wales, designed by Ström Architects. Positioned between sea and estuary on a sloping North Wales site, the 475-square-meter house employs a deliberate architectural strategy – anchoring heavy slate volumes at ground level while elevating a lighter corten-clad floor above – that transforms exposure into opportunity. This compositional approach creates sheltered outdoor rooms and channels views while allowing the building to settle into its coastal setting with the inevitability of geological formation.

The two-storey structure develops its form through careful mapping of environmental conditions. Ground floor volumes constructed from locally quarried Welsh slate establish visual and structural continuity with the underlying geology, their mass providing windbreaks that shape a protected entrance court and position primary living spaces toward unobstructed vistas. Above, a corten steel volume pivots toward the Irish Sea, its angled form detailed with vertical steel fins that manage solar gain and weather protection without compromising sightlines. This upper level spans between the slate bases, generating covered terraces that extend the interior program into the coastal landscape. A Japanese-inspired courtyard punctures the plan, channeling natural light into enclosed functions like the gym and creating moments of stillness within the exposed site.

Welsh slate references the region’s mining heritage while its iron content produces warm orange oxidation that harmonizes with the developing patina of weathering corten steel, supplied by Dave Marriott. Grey-treated cedar silvers naturally in salt air, completing a palette engineered for gradual transformation rather than static preservation. These choices establish temporal depth – the house appears settled on day one yet continues developing visual complexity as surfaces weather and mature.

The plan organizes program according to degrees of enclosure and prospect. Inward-focused rooms – the snug, gym, and plant room – occupy protected ground-floor volumes, their slate walls offering privacy and shelter. Between these anchoring masses, open-plan kitchen, dining, and living areas deploy floor-to-ceiling glazing by PanoramAH that dissolves boundaries while maintaining energy performance in harsh coastal conditions. The first floor contains the principal suite, secondary living space, and three additional bedrooms, all oriented to capture estuary and sea views. This vertical sectional strategy balances exposure and protection, allowing communal spaces to engage the horizon while private areas benefit from the thermal and acoustic properties of heavy masonry below.

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