Carrick Retreat
A place to muse, a place to dance, a place to sing. A nest to align all parts of ones being
Carrick Retreat is designed as a healing and creative space which overlooks a tidal creek in Cornwall. It is nestled among ancient yew trees, the wood structure sits on granite pad stones.
The building is clad in locally sourced oak, from the external walls to the traditional roof tiles, or ‘shakes’.
A moon portal window protrudes from the mid-roof line, allowing the sunlight to circulate through the room during the day. Occasionally, the moon aligns with this portal, creating a celestial encounter within the space.
The building’s geometric form is composed of an exposed cruck frame. This skeleton was constructed from green oak using an old technique which utilises the natural curve of the tree, creating a very strong, long-lasting structure. Once assembled, it was left out on the land, exposed to the elements for six months, imbuing it with a powerful and innate sense of its surrounding area.
Inside the cruck frame remains exposed, allowing for the placement of functional elements from plants to artistic collections. Shelterlike, this structure creates intimate corners to be used as entrance and study areas.
Brass ceiling lights in the exposed beams and the suspended floor of reclaimed pitch pine – once housed in Bodmin town hall – creates a warm, earthy glow around the wood stove.
“The building is a magical fusion of architectures hidden qualities of sacred proportion and the merger within form of both masculine and feminine principles.”
Details throughout the space revealing the beauty of hand crafted features
Materials
Green oak frame, oak shakes and cladding, oak windows, sheep wool insulation, wood fibre insulation, lime plaster, reclaimed pitch pine, reclaimed granite padstones….