The seven apartments at Haddo Yard in the seaside town of Whitstable are the outcome of an open-book relationship with developer Arrant Land — and prove that confident, place-specific housing can be built in the local market for an ambitiously tight budget.
Utilitarian materials and pitched gables reference those of the sea wall and fishing sheds, elevated for a domestic setting. By reconfiguring the plans during detailed design, budget was released for fine-tunings with an Aleister Crowley connection, and bespoke, Whitstable-made details that lift the homes above a standard spec.
Between shopping parade and suburban semis, the form has grown out of an earlier scheme for a row of three houses. Two floors of two apartments sit over three on the ground floor.
Rear elevation: a lighter base, housing the three ground-floor apartments, extends out from the upper levels.
Clues to the Somerset Maugham/Alestair Crowley narrative are hidden throughout, in the triangular motifs, the main door handle and the signage, inspired by that at Somerset Maugham’s villa in the south of France.
Sitting opposite the train station, Haddo Yard’s name, triangular gables and fine detailing reference The Magician by Somerset Maugham, who lived here in Whitstable. The character of the eponymous magician, Oliver Haddo, is based on the occultist Alestair Crowley.
The close working method between Kerr and Blackmore suggests a genuinely productive relationship between architect and developer.
Charles Holland, Architects' Journal
Blank panels set with decorative faience tiles are also functional, masking the party walls between apartments. A base of pale grey brick topped with coal-black cladding evokes the tar-painted fishermen's huts on the seafront.
Rendered in crochet for Knitstable.
Coastal planting and a concrete garden wall, inspired by the sea defences and shuttered with an old shed found on site.
In its intelligent planning and robust detailing it is way ahead of what one might expect.
Charles Holland, Architects' Journal
The seaside is never far away in Whitstable. Tiles in an upper-floor kitchen are coloured like Neapolitan ice cream.
Haddo Yard backyard.
A dark timber ceiling gives better acoustics in the shared hall space.
The miserable beige bungalow opposite the station was a sorry sight for people arriving in or travelling through Whitstable. When it came up for sale, we recognised the opportunity the site offered for density, but also for engagement with ideas about the place’s identity. It was cheap, on a large plot and quickly bought. So began an exploration into what a new building in such a prominent position could say about a town — this town.
Every part of the process was investigated as an opportunity to improve, enrich or economise. We knew we wanted a building that spoke eloquently of Whitstable, but it was choosing a name for the project that brought it to life. Oliver Haddo’s libertine influence was in healthy tension with the well-mannered built context of the town and created a ‘safe space’ for some unusual ideas. Conversations about the materiality of the town’s sea defences touched on the occult. Door handles became ceremonial maces.
Duncan Blackmore, Arrant Land, from the Architect's Journal
Clues to the Somerset Maugham/Alestair Crowley narrative are hidden throughout, in the triangular motifs, the main door handle and the signage, inspired by that at Somerset Maugham’s villa in the south of France.
“I stumbled across this when in Whitstable for an orienteering event, and can confirm it’s a really good attempt to match the traditional building style of fish lofts near the harbour.”
Ian Byrne, Dezeen comments
Haddow and Crowley references, as seen on Munro and at the bar of the Neptune.
IMAGE CAPTIONS
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Sitting opposite the train station, Haddo Yard’s name, triangular gables and fine detailing reference The Magician by Somerset Maugham, who lived here in Whistable. The character of the eponymous magician, Oliver Haddo, is based on the occultist Alestair Crowley.
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Blank panels set with decorative faience tiles are also functional, masking the party walls between apartments.
Detail photo
Coastal planting and a concrete garden wall, inspired by the sea defences and shuttered with a shed found on site.
Front detail 2
Utilitarian pale grey brick cladding with coal-black over, evoking the tar-painted fishermen’s huts on the seafront.
Front detail
Games with blank panels, window openings and brick.
Front of building
Two floors of two apartments sit over a row of three on the ground floor.
Interior
A dark timber ceiling for better acoustics in the shared circulation space.
Kitchen interior
The seaside is never far away in Whitstable. Tiles in an upper-floor kitchen are coloured like Neapolitan ice cream.
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A ship-like timber lining to the stair.
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On the upper stories the pitched ceilings are allowed to slope down low, with views over the rooftops.
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Skylight to a ground floor living space.
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Between shopping parade and suburban semis, the form has grown from an earlier scheme for a row of three houses.
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Rear elevation: a lighter base, housing the three ground-floor apartments, extends out from the upper levels.
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Seen from the side, dark zinc-clad mansards top the black brick cladding.
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Haddo Yard backyard.
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The blind panels on the rear of the house are filled with herringbone-set brick.
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Clues to the Somerset Maugham/Alestair Crowley narrative are hidden throughout, in the triangular motifs, the main door handle and the signage, inspired by that at Somerset Maugham’s villa in the south of France.
EPHEMERA
Picture of SM/Alestair Crowley in bar?
Cover of The Magician
Somerset Maugham references?
Knitstable blanket
Murray’s son in hi vis
Images of fishing huts and sea wall
Model shots
