This house on the coast of Jersey settles into a landscape of strong character, embracing exposure to the elements

On the western coast of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands off Normandy, Fieldwork Architects has designed Wishing Well for its owner, who was returning to the island after several years living in London. The house stands in an area of extraordinary beauty along St Ouen’s Bay, where miles of flat sandy beach meet the Atlantic swell and the land rises towards the undulating hills of Jersey National Park. The architects at Fieldwork, in collaboration with Singh Studio, developed a language of material honesty with a design carefully adapted to the site’s specific conditions.

“Wishing Well offered an opportunity to balance contemporary design with the rugged surroundings. Working closely with the client, who embraced our ideas and consistently supported our approach, we were able to create a home that celebrates both its setting and local craftsmanship,” comments Tim Gibbons, director of Fieldwork Architects.

On the plot stood a deteriorated bungalow which, due to planning restrictions, had to be partially retained. This limitation became the conceptual driver of the project. Rather than erasing the constructed memory, the architects chose to work with it, wrapping its footprint and transforming it into a generative structure.

Building from matter

The new volume is defined by a dual mineral skin. At its core, a stabilised rammed earth wall runs across two levels, tracing the footprint of the former dwelling, as if the past were encapsulated within a new domestic geology. Around it, a layer of local granite protects the house from wind and salt, constructing a dense outer envelope.

Materiality here operates as a complete system that goes beyond aesthetics. The granite, in the island’s characteristic pink hues, was crushed and incorporated into the aggregate of the rammed earth itself, creating chromatic and physical continuity between the two layers. The result is an architecture that feels sedimented rather than constructed, where each surface speaks of its origin.

A perimeter colonnade shelters two façades, creating a transition between interior and landscape that moderates climatic exposure and forms part of the environmental strategy: shade in summer, protection from rain, and a constant relationship with the place.

“We wanted the house to feel anchored in its surroundings, with an organisation that connects land and sea, framing outward views and using natural materials throughout,” explains James Owen, director of Fieldwork Architects.

An inverted house

The internal organisation is conceived with the aim of protecting below and opening above. The ground floor accommodates the bedrooms, sheltered by thick walls and by the thermal mass of the mineral envelope. It is a quieter stratum, closer to the earth than to the horizon.

By contrast, daily life shifts to the upper floor which, beneath a large rooflight, houses a continuous space integrating kitchen, dining and living areas. Here, the architecture becomes lighter. Large windows frame the ocean, offering a spectacular view of the sea and allowing light to transform the character of the interior throughout the day.

A dark timber pavilion, added in the later stages of the project, accommodates the dining room. Its contained scale balances the overall composition and introduces a more domestic dimension, while its materiality dialogues with the interior joinery.

If the exterior is defined by density, the interior is constructed through continuity. A cream-toned limestone runs throughout the project as a unifying thread: it appears in window jambs, ascends along the staircase and becomes countertops, flooring and structural elements.

Its texture varies according to use. On the floor, a flamed finish reveals small fossil traces; on work surfaces, the stone is polished until it becomes smooth and quiet. This attention to material detail reinforces a sense of spatial coherence, where every element belongs to the same system.

The interiors are completed with bespoke timber joinery, natural fibres and restrained furniture pieces that seek continuity. Architecture is thus perceived as an atmosphere rather than as a sum of objects.

The staircase as spine

The staircase acts as the project’s backbone. Its trajectory connects the two strata of the house and culminates before the exposed rammed earth wall, where construction is revealed without filters. This encounter between structure and movement introduces a distinctly sculptural dimension, recalling that the house is, in essence, an excavated mass.

Top lighting reinforces this vertical experience, bringing clarity down to the lower level and accentuating the transition between refuge and openness.

Architecture as a collective process

Beyond its formal presence, Wishing Well is also the result of a shared research process. Fieldwork developed the project in close collaboration with structural engineer Elliot Wood, a specialist in rammed earth, testing mixes, scales and finishes until achieving the desired precision. The house is thus understood as an accumulation of knowledge, where design and construction advance inseparably.

A refuge facing the Atlantic

Wishing Well is an architecture that assumes exposure to the elements as a condition. Its response is density, developing a balance between protection and openness. At a time when many coastal architectures are conceived with image in mind, Fieldwork proposes a quieter path: to build from place, from matter and from time. Among grasses that echo the coastal vegetation and mineral tones that gather the nuances of sunset, the house dissolves into its surroundings until it becomes landscape.

Materials and furnishings

Mineral coatings: Bauwerks. Continuous flooring: Mortex. Stabilised rammed earth: developed with Earth Structures and Elliot Wood. Natural stone, interior and exterior: Creme Noblesse. Joinery and fixed furniture: bespoke design by Fieldwork Architects. Kitchen: bespoke design by Fieldwork Architects. Lighting: Strom. External joinery: bespoke design.

Project: Wishing Well.
Location: Jersey, Islas del Canal.
Internal floor area: 225 m².

Completed: 2025.
Architecture and Interior design: Fieldwork Architects.
Concept design: Fieldwork Architects y Singh Studio.
Planning consultancy: MS Planning.
Ingeniería estructural: Elliot Wood.
MEP engineering: WBSheils.
Rammed earth specialists (SRE) (SRE): Earth Structures.
Quantity surveying: Colin Smith Partnership.
Lighting consultancy: Strom.
Main contractor: V and V Builders and Stonemasons.
Stone specialist: Le Pelley.
Photography: French + Tye.

Fieldwork Architects

Fieldwork Architects is an architecture and interior design studio based in London, founded in 2018 by architects James Owen and Tim Gibbons. The practice centres on material exploration and contextual design, approaching each project as a specific response to place, brief and the people who inhabit it.

Their methodology combines research, experimentation and craft, drawing equally on digital tools, physical models and technical development. Ongoing research and learning are central to the studio’s process, with each project understood as an opportunity to expand capabilities and carry knowledge forward into future work.

Fieldwork operates across all stages of a project, from concept through to construction, delivering new-build homes, renovations and bespoke interior design. The studio’s approach is rooted in a collaborative practice that brings together multiple disciplines and forms of expertise to produce architecture that is precise, context-sensitive and carefully crafted.

Prior to founding the studio, both architects developed their careers within leading British practices. Tim Gibbons worked at Foster + Partners, where he became an associate, while James Owen collaborated with studios including Foster + Partners and Pollard Thomas Edwards, contributing to residential, cultural and hospitality projects.

Project by Fieldwork Architects