Beach house puts Finnforest in the frame
El Ray, Dungeness beach
27/04/2009
El Ray, an innovative and stunning timber house on Dungeness beach, is using Finnforest’s Kerto to provide the required strength and rigidity on a key structural element.
Designed by Simon Conder architects and engineered by Fluid Structures, El Ray features a fully-glazed south elevation facing the beach providing views across the English Channel. The structural opening for this elevation was created using two parallel 8m span Kerto portal frames to allow the sliding and folding glazed doors to open across the full width.
Kerto is produced from 3mm thick softwood veneers that are glued into a billet, hot-pressed and then cut into beams, planks, posts or panels. It is a strong, rigid and dimensionally-precise product that will not warp, split or twist and has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than commercial sawn timber.
Built around a Victorian railway carriage, which formed the basis of the original, much smaller, beach house on the site, El Ray is set in a stunning yet isolated position on Europe’s largest shingle beach. In accordance with the architect’s desire to create a low carbon footprint dwelling, the house is constructed entirely from timber and has its own wind-turbine.
David Crookes, director of Fluid Structures, commented: "We needed strength and particularly lateral rigidity for the front opening. The architect wanted to use timber throughout, and Kerto was strong enough for the job. The alternative would normally have been to use steelwork, but compared to the Kerto it would have been difficult to handle and transport to this remote site. Kerto, supported by its clear environmental advantages, including certification and chain of custody, provided the perfect solution.”