South Downs National Park Design Awards 2019

The Rusty House

The Corten clad architectural design that keeps on giving

The Corten river house in Lewes, also known as The Rusty House, recently won the residential category in the South Downs National Park Design Awards 2019. This new award scheme was launched in 2019 to promote innovative architectural design within the National Park. The award scheme aims to become an annual celebration of projects that have made a signification contribution to the landscape, built environment and the local communities within the park. The Rusty House is a project that keeps on giving. Since it’s completion back in 2016, the project has been featured on many TV shows including Grand Designs Series 16. It has been awarded several RIBA Awards as well as awards from The Sunday Times, and now the South Downs National Park Awards. This contemporary new build was constructed on the banks of the River Ouse, featuring structural glazing that almost surrounds the ground floor to captivate the views from this beautiful riverside location. The highly glazed walls of the ground floor living spaces were designed this way to not only provide outstanding views but to also create the illusion that the upper floor was floating, playing with the illusions that are often created by reflections in the water. To the exterior of the property, the upper floor was clad in Corten Steel which naturally rusts and changes colour over time. The stunning tones of the steel beautifully complement the surrounding trees during the autumn months, accentuating the copper landscape.