Down by the sea (5/5)

Mention Dungeness to most people and the reply is a power station (not operating) and filmmaker Derek Jarman (died in 1994) but ask an architect and the reply would be a place with some of the most innovative contemporary houses in the country. Bradbury's book reveals why this rather barren strip of shingle attracts creative types, especially architects and he writes enthusiastically about sixteen homes.

The three main chapters (Landscape and history; Conversions and adaptations; New builds) reveal the background to Dungeness stretching back to the late 1800s when the South Eastern Railway saw the potential of a harbour and crossing point to France. That scheme folded but in the 1920s the company offered staff redundant carriages and a plot of shingle to put them on. Intriguingly, parts of carriages have been included in the structure of three contemporary homes built on the site of the carriages.

Over the decades the area, flat, desolate and ideal for use by the military in wartime, then the government and Trinity House. They all required relatively small buildings which were just left and several of these are described in the 'Conversions and adaptations' chapter. Anyone who visits the area will be aware of the huge amount of sky and the massive Dungeness A and B nuclear power station. The French company EDF now owns the plant and in 2015 bought the 468-acre Dungeness Estate.

Luckily for Dungeness the Estate has very strict covenants and I think this probably appeals to architects because it makes them create interesting designs within the site limitations. This especially applies to the conversions of existing buildings whose exterior more or less had to remain the same. Some decades back a coastguard station was built on the shore, it became redundant and was bought by architect Fiona Naylor and Peter Marlow. The photos of their conversion to a home look amazing. Another Naylor conversion was the Pump Station, built by the military in 1941 and again the exterior walls are not too far removed from the original.

The third chapter, New builds, reveals seven homes that conform to the strict covenants and although all different they do blend together visually. This is helped by a lack of fencing around most properties, they easily merge into the landscape. Designer Simon Conder's 'El Ray' has the side of one of the twenties carriages used as a wall for the kitchen. The 'Pobble house' replaced a falling apart bungalow and garage which enabled the Holloway Studio to use the footprint of the old building to create a fascinating contemporary interior. The exterior has a large piece of Cor-Ten rusting nicely.

This is a lovely book revealing in words and photos a unique part of the English coast. As photographer Rachael Smith took all of them they blend together throughout the pages. There are plenty of interior photos and some excellent landscape ones over several spreads.