T
he stunning Cornish harbour of St Ives offers a lifestyle many of us dream of – endless light (thanks to its peninsula
position), a picturesque harbour that has remained largely unchanged since the days of Poldark and golden, sandy beaches at every turn. So it is perhaps unsurprising that every morsel
of land here is snapped up for development – prompting the occasional outcry that these land grabs will ruin the very charm that buyers seek to enjoy. This concern reached fever pitch this year when residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on second homes. But one of the newest – and possibly now last
– second homes on the block is Trelas, a clever piece of subterranean architecture that clings to a tall, skinny, steep slice of south-facing land high above the picturesque harbour. Completed in April 2016, Trelas is the future full-time home of the Green family. Currently calling Sheffield their home, Sara and Stuart and their children Alice, Tom, Joe, Sam and Jack began their journey to fulfil a life-long dream of creating a permanent abode in this idyllic slice of Cornwall back in 2012. Sara had grown up on stories of St Ives’
charms as her uncle had been evacuated there during the war. Coupled with this was Stuart’s long-held dream of building his own house. But they got on with the business of family life and the dream may never have been realised if it hadn’t been for a disaster: in 2012, Sara was
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The ups and downs, steep alleys and sharp turns of St Ives creates notoriously awkward spaces that means few houses sit on naturally level ground – and this piece of land was no different
spaces that means few houses sit on naturally level ground – and this piece of land was no dif- ferent. “We knew from the outset that this would require an ingenious design,” explains Stuart. “Our vision was for a clean, modern, open-plan style. We realised that this wasn’t going to be a conventional design, and knew that much of the accommodation would have to be subterranean to fit everything that we needed into the space available while meeting the height restrictions.”
Local design knowledge ]
diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The fam- ily consequently moved more than 350 miles south west and rented a house in St Ives while she underwent chemotherapy. It was here that their dream began to take shape. From the win- dow of their rented accommodation, Stuart had spotted a plot of land for sale – which he later discovered already had planning permission. “It seemed as though it was meant to be and the thought of spending time rehabili- tating in the magical, spiritual place that is St. Ives was just exhilarating,” says Stuart. The ups and downs, steep alleys and sharp turns of St Ives creates notoriously awkward
22 selfbuilder & homemaker
www.sbhonline.co.uk
Recognising the need for an architect with local knowledge, the family turned to Chris Strike of St Ives-based RA Design. “Long before we pur- chased the plot, we set out to find a professional who we were confident would share our vision for the development and guide us on the jour- ney,” says Stuart. “Chris met all our requirements, and was able to accommodate four bedrooms, three bathrooms, lounge, kitchen/dining room and utility room over three stepped levels natu- rally following the contours of the hillside.” He adds: “We wanted to be sympathetic to
the feel of the local area; Chris proposed a green roof section that would create a pleasing, nature-friendly softening of the building when viewed from the top of the site.” Their first delay came in buying the property, which took almost a year. “There was a section of wall at the top of the plot belonging to a house opposite that would have to be removed if we were to have vehicle access for construc- tion and to subsequently allow on-site parking for
two vehicles,” Stuart explains. “After multiple sur- veys, structural engineering calculations and many design iterations we were finally ready to go to tender by autumn 2014.” Managed at a distance by Stuart to help keep
the costs down and shelter a still recovering Sara from unnecessary stress, building work finally began in early 2015. The next issue encoun- tered was access. Deciding against the option of a crane – which would cause massive disrup- tion to the neighbouring homes – the builders came up with an ingenious solution. “We approached the owners of the garden adjacent to the plot and came to an agreement with them to use their land for access during construction in return for landscaping it at the end of the proj- ect,” explains Stuart. Further delays occurred during the build: construction work had to be halted after a badger sett was discovered close to the site to allow a survey to be carried out by environmen- tal experts. Only when the sett turned out to be abandoned could work begin again, until the famously inclement winter weather of Cornwall contrived, with the steep gradient of the site, to cause a landslide. And despite the careful planning, they had to deal with other unforeseen construction issues that required structural redesigns along the way. In the end Stuart worked closely with architect
Chris Strike who acted on their behalf. “We came to an arrangement with Chris that he would act as our eyes and ears for the project, visiting the site regularly to confirm that work was proceeding to plan and being done correctly.”
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