20/07/2026
Back in the 1980s, when the Royal Alfred Marina was first laid out, plots were cut narrow (around 15 meters wide) and the majority ended up facing east or west rather than north.
That matters more than it sounds. A north-facing home gets soft, consistent light and warmth all day. East or west, and you're stuck with harsh morning or afternoon sun and a colder home in between.
So, the architects of the time found a workaround: courtyards, carved into the middle of the plan, pulling light down into the house from above.
Clever solution for its era. But thirty-odd years on, a lot of these courtyards have become something else — an awkward gap in the middle of the home instead of a room anyone uses.
We're reworking exactly that right now on a home in the Marina. The brief: take that old light-well courtyard and fold it back into the house as real, usable space — without losing the light it was built to capture in the first place.
Follow along as we take this one from concept to completion. 👇
