Designed for a retired couple relocating from Edinburgh to the Solway Coast, Tidal House is an understated, contemporary home organised over two floors with Larch cladding punctuated by expansive glazing, and solid elements to the North in smoked clay brick.

The house sits on the edge of the tidal estuary of the River Urr, with far-reaching views to the sea beyond, and is orientated around a small courtyard containing an Autumn Fire Acer, which aligns with the entrance, and separates the two main elements of the ground floor, with the social spaces to one side and an artist’s studio to the other, from where the clients can paint whilst looking across the coastal garden to the estuary.

The key social space connects to the courtyard, and to the views beyond via extensive glazing, with the stove suspended in the view. Designed to accommodate both heirlooms and client-designed furniture elements, the house seeks to avoid minimalism, creating a warm and inviting interior which makes use of colour and texture, and is at it's best when ‘lived in’.

In line with the studio’s approach to sustainability, Brown & Brown designed Tidal House to reduce carbon and operational costs. Large expanse of glazing draw in solar gain, with the thick masonry wall to the North acting as athermal store. In the summer months the overhang on the glazing to the South is calculated to avoid over-heating, with key openings in the North providing the opportunity for natural cross-ventilation. An air-source heat pump provides renewable heating, which is supported by a heavily insulated fabric, and natural ventilation by means of a passive system.

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