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Couin De Vacque
Coordinates 49° 43’N 2° 66’W
Altitude 85.41 m
A contemporary reinterpretation of the Guernsey Longhouse, Couin de Vacque is a site-specific dwelling grounded in its coastal terrain. Replacing a dilapidated 1950s villa, the new home is embedded into the south escarpment, where two interlocking volumes hunker down into the slope, sheltering from wind and road, opening to sea and sky.
The main longhouse and its companion study block choreograph a quiet sequence of approach and reveal, withholding the view until the threshold. Positioned beside a National Trust field, the project emerged through careful dialogue with planning.
Built to endure, the stone and slate façade forms a protective skin against the ferocious north-easterlies and shifting climate. The house traces the natural slope, anchoring its presence through gestures of shelter and exposure.
Each moment of inhabitation responds quietly to the site, its shifting weather, its layered memory, its enduring rhythm.
Project Details:
Photography by Richard Brine
Recognition:
Guernsey Design Awards – Winner
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