The development brief set by the client was to provide additional facilities while maintaining most of the existing structure as much as possible for cost purposes. The aim was to design a building that would improve the current design to attract prospective new members to the sport and the club. The proposal was for adding a new second storey with access to a balcony plus the internal alterations at the ground floor level with access to the patio at the front.

The site is located along the Hunstanton Promenade overlooking the Wash and is to the northwest of the Town centre. The Sailing Club is a prominent feature of the Hunstanton seafront and has been part of the local and national water/wind sports activities for many years. Hence, our approach was to create a building that would be in harmony with the surrounding area and functional for its member’s needs.

The location and orientation of the proposed clubhouse were maintained as existing facing onto the Wash in a northwesterly direction. Internally, the views were used to an advantage at the first-floor level, where a balcony and large bi-folding doors were created to look out and admire the Norfolk scenery. The ground floor was modified to take into account clients’ and members’ requirements.

The existing ground floor external walls, including the fencing walls, were proposed to be rendered sand/cement with an off-white colour wash. Larch vertical boarding was used to clad all the first-floor walls so that the natural weathering of the boarding would blend into the cliff background over time. All the windows and doors were selected as black anodised aluminium to allow for a more modern approach to the clubhouse and create contrast with the rendered wall. The metallic theme was continued with insulated roof panels clad with a standing seam effect.