Driftways was originally built in 1961 alongside the Drift Dam as the ‘Water Bailiff’s’ House. It was developed by South-west Water for use by the manager of the dam and reservoir. When the dam was automated the house was sold off as a private dwelling.
The dam was formed in the 1960s to flood the Drift valley and form a reservoir to supply water to west Cornwall, there had been farmhouses and other buildings in the Drift valley, these can be seen on maps from the late 1800s, they were demolished though parts of them remain and are now underwater at the bottom of the Reservoir.
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In March 2016 Mark Camillin and Liam Denny purchased the property with a view to re-modelling and refurbishing it as a holiday house. Thanks to its uncompromising modern design and clever scissor section layout (entrance midway between two floors gives a scissor-like access to the lower and upper floors), the house only needed an entrance porch adding, the top floor rooms; living room, kitchen and bathroom were knocked together to form one large living room. One of the smaller bedrooms was converted into the main bathroom and the garage on the lowest floor converted into a master bedroom suite.
The biggest changes to the design are brought about by the over cladding of the upper levels with copper and the addition of a large terrace overlooking the reservoir. The house has been sustainably re-designed with insulation added, photovoltaic and solar thermal panels and an air source heat pump.
Cornwall Planners commended the project for its use of ‘innovative materials’. AMJ Renovations from Falmouth carried out the building works between January and June 2017.
The driveway was enlarged to allow modern size vehicles to park and turn on the drive, and the landscape was designed to soften the modern edges of the terrace and roof profile.
Winner of the LABC Building Excellence Award 2018
Driftways, Lower Drift, Penzance, designed by Camillin Denny Design and constructed by AMJ Renovations was awarded the title of Best Extension or Alteration to an Existing Home at the Grand Finals of the LABC Building Excellence Awards – one of the most recognised events on the building industry’s calendar.
A panel of industry experts judged a list of the highest quality projects from around England and Wales to reward the best in technical innovation, sustainability and design.
Nominated by the team from Cornwall Council Building Control, this project involved alterations, extensions and remodelling of a 1960’s modernist copper clad water bailiffs house.