Project: W1266
Beach House is a 500sq ft beach house retreat, completed by Witcher Crawford in 2015 as a private family residence. The House is located on sand dunes above the Pink Sand beach at Harbour Island in the Bahamas.
The beach house has three bedroom suites and a large communal living space, all designed to have expansive sea views. the property also has its own gymnasium, swimming pool and outdoor cinema.
A property designed for all that the elements decide to muster; sun soaked days on the terrace or safe by the fire with timber hurricane shutters closed.
Seafair is designed as a contemporary interpretation of the traditional island style. The buildings are kept low with shallow pitched roofs and have large timber decks and stone terraces. Walls are clad in stone and cedar and have large sliding windows to take advantages of the fabulous views over the beach and out to sea. Windows are fitted with shutters to provide shade and protect against storms.
The islands can be badly affected by storms and the house has been designed to withstand hurricane force winds. Windows and shutters are specially selected to be hurricane compliant. The building roofs are clad in cedar shingles, a local trick as the small tiles survive high winds more successfully than sheet material and can be easily and cheaply replaced if damaged. The house has its own desalination unit to provide safe drinking water. It also has its own electric generator.
Witcher Crawford originally designed Seafair with the intention of working with a local project manager. However, the difficulties of building a project to a high standard and in a timely fashion quickly resulted in the decision to move a key member of staff to the island to project manage the build directly. By directly controlling the build, Witcher Crawford were able to get the best from local craftsmen and decide when skill shortfalls required specialists from further afield. The house was finished on time and on budget and enjoys an exceptional level of detail and quality.
