BETWEEN NATURE AND THE BEACH: A FANTASTIC HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE THAT CHARLES DICKENS FELL IN LOVE WITH

Just 100 kilometres from one of the largest metropolises on the planet – London – we find Broadstairs. This small town of around 20,000 inhabitants has been a tourist attraction since the mid-19th century, thanks to the expansion of the steamship that favoured its connection with London and other large English cities. It attracted the attention of artists, such as the popular writer Charles Dickens, who wrote some of his great works there, which reflected the reality of post-Industrial Revolution England.

Today it continues to be one of the favourite destinations for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city and take refuge in an almost idyllic coastal setting. And as a result, we have found interesting projects for first and second homes. An example is Woven, a house designed to immerse its residents in nature, located just a few metres from the beach.

Nestled among trees, the creators wanted this space to make its inhabitants feel like they were entering nature, breaking down barriers both internally and externally. On one hand, its interior is notable for its expansive, open-plan design; on the other, it expands outwards to embrace its surroundings through floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides and its sculptural façade ready for nature to grow on and around it.

Giles Miller advocates experiential and meticulously crafted design through his eponymous studio. "Where we live has a direct impact on our state of mind. Through their design, buildings are curators of light and sound. They can expose us to nature and enrich our interactions to a dramatically positive effect. We believe this aspiration, in line with our latest surface and sculptural experimentation in the studio, has resulted in a totally unique architectural typology, explain its creators.

With Woven, Miller conceived the outer skin of the house as a series of intricate and delicately designed screens. The sculptural latticework is designed to let light pass through, provide views to the outside and encourage nature to inhabit it as jasmine, clematis and other local plants grow and envelop the house in foliage and flowers.

"Woven's external surface is a sculptural work of art that brings an architectural functionality to the building by encouraging the growth of jasmine, clematis and other plants through the sculptural lattice and bringing nature visibly into the building through the mostly glass exterior. The façade makes the building look at home in nature," they say.

Inside, warm wood adorns almost every visible surface. A Miele kitchen, Vispring beds, Grohe kitchen and bathroom fittings, Tala lighting, Caesarstone Frozen Terra surfaces and worktops, and L.Ercolani furniture all help create a domestic space ideal for 21st-century living.