Castle High: Hyde + Hyde Architects Redesign Welsh Farmhouse

The owners approached Hyde + Hyde in 2010, as their existing farmhouse was in poor condition, thermally inefficient and no longer fit for purpose. Where this house had replaced the site’s original stone farmhouse, its random position had left a previously functional, sheltered courtyard open to harsh weather, slowly falling into disrepair.

Central to Hyde + Hyde’s design is the project’s ability to reframe the courtyard again, completing the horseshoe shape of the existing outbuildings with a contemporary new wing. The new home is sensitive in form and scale, combining old and new in an arrangement that respects and responds to the site’s location, climate and character.

The ground floor contains a generous open-plan living space, with inset glazing providing views both to the courtyard and the sea. At first floor level, all 4 bedrooms frame commanding views towards the Irish Sea.

The project’s innovative use of white fair-faced concrete draws inspiration from the weathering of pebbles on the nearby shoreline and provides a robust, long-term solution for creating a structure with the solidity to withstand the harsh weather of this exposed site.

For the clients, Castle High was a real labour of love. Executed as a self-build project over the past 10 years, as their time and budgetary constraints allowed, the owner worked closely with Hyde + Hyde to embrace building methods and sustainable technology as these evolved.