- Project: Welch House
- Architect: The Manser Practice
- Location: United Kingdom, Isle of Wight
- Year: 2009
- Photography: Morley Von Sternberg
A Floating Family Home on the Isle of Wight
Set on a steep wooded hillside overlooking the Solent, Welch House by The Manser Practice is a masterful fusion of architecture, engineering, and landscape. Designed for a returning client, the home replaces a modest seaside shack with a striking, light-filled family residence that appears to float above the trees. Completed in 2009, the project has since received the RIBA Award (2010) for its innovative structure and contextual sensitivity.
Site Challenges & Structural Innovation
The site posed exceptional challenges—unstable soil, steep gradients, and limited accessibility. To make the project viable, The Manser Practice collaborated closely with structural engineers Malcolm Woodruff and Elliott Wood Partnership to devise an ingenious structural solution.
The resulting design balances a two-storey lightweight box atop a teardrop-shaped concrete tube, which anchors the home deep into the bedrock—30 meters below ground level—using piles and soil anchors. This advanced engineering minimizes the physical footprint and stabilizes the structure against ground movement, allowing the building to hover elegantly above the slope.
The visual impact is dramatic: the home appears as a polished black pavilion, seemingly suspended among the trees and reflecting the changing seasons around it.
Design Concept & Material Expression
The upper floor houses the main living areas, oriented to maximize panoramic views of the Solent and the surrounding woodland canopy. The open-plan design connects kitchen, dining, and lounge spaces into a single flowing volume.
Externally, the residence is clad in high-gloss painted cement particle board, finished with marine-grade enamel. This rainscreen façade gently mirrors the colors of the forest, allowing the structure to blend into its environment while maintaining a refined, contemporary character.
The home’s proportions are organized on a 1,200 × 1,200 × 1,200 mm modular grid, ensuring precision and efficiency during fabrication and assembly.
Construction & Technical Strategy
Due to the extreme site conditions, the project was completed through two separate contracts:
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Civil Works Contract – focused on the complex concrete foundation and substructure, securing the building into bedrock.
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Construction Contract – covered the lightweight steel and timber superstructure, fabricated and assembled on-site.
The roof system employs structural insulated panels (SIPS) for thermal efficiency and reduced weight. Fixed glazing was chosen for economy, complemented by operable floor-level vents and roof lights to promote natural cross-ventilation.
Despite the engineering complexity, the entire build—including groundwork—was completed within 18 months, achieving an exceptional balance of precision, performance, and cost control.
Interior Design & Atmosphere
Inside, Welch House exudes calm through simplicity. Clean lines, neutral tones, and minimal detailing create a serene backdrop for the ever-changing views. The interior finishes are deliberately economic and refined, emphasizing proportion and light rather than ornamentation.
Large picture windows frame the horizon, immersing inhabitants in the surrounding woodland and seascape. The house’s elevated perch enhances this sense of immersion—a dialogue between nature, structure, and sky.
Welch House by The Manser Practice is a tour de force of site-specific modernism, where architectural clarity meets engineering ingenuity. Through its daring structure, lightweight materials, and environmental responsiveness, the house transforms a seemingly unbuildable site into a masterpiece of balance and restraint.
Floating among the trees like a reflective black vessel, Welch House stands as a landmark of contemporary British coastal architecture—an elegant testament to innovation, collaboration, and the poetry of structure.
