Strand Court

Strand Court is a waterfront apartment in Salcombe, Devon, which underwent a major renovation to create a modern open-plan home overlooking the harbour.

The property's location was central to the glazing strategy. With picturesque views across the fishing harbour, the design called for minimal visual obstruction between the interior and the surrounding waterfront setting.

Slim-framed sliding glass doors were used to create large, full-height glazed openings around the apartment. The doors extend around the property, connecting the open-plan living spaces with the external decking and seating areas.

The minimal framing allows the harbour views to remain prominent from within the apartment, while the large areas of glass bring natural light into the newly renovated interiors.

The project demonstrates how slim sliding doors can be incorporated into a renovation to completely change the relationship between an existing property and its surroundings, without allowing the glazing system itself to dominate the architectural design.

The primary objective of the glazing design was to make the most of Strand Court's waterfront location.

The apartment overlooks a small fishing harbour, so maintaining clear views across the water was an important part of the renovation. Slim-framed sliding glass doors were selected to minimise the amount of visible framing while creating large areas of transparent glazing.

The sliding doors wrap around the apartment, reducing the visual and physical separation between the internal living spaces and the external decking area.

This creates a strong connection between the open-plan interior and the harbour beyond, allowing the external environment to become a defining part of the apartment.

The minimal sightlines of the slim-framed sliding doors further reduces the visual impact of the aluminium framing, helping to maintain the minimalist aesthetic requested by the client.

The glazing was also designed around the practical requirements of the apartment. An automated elevation allows furniture to be positioned in front of the sliding doors without preventing the doors from being opened for ventilation, providing flexibility within the open-plan living spaces.

The waterfront apartment incorporates specialist heated glazing within the minimal sliding door system. Heated glass was specified within the master bedroom, where it was used as the sole heat source for the room.

The electrically heated glazing provides radiant heat directly from the glass while retaining the minimal appearance required for the large glazed elevation. This allowed the project to combine a highly glazed architectural design with a practical approach to heating the bedroom.

The use of heated glazing was particularly suited to the master bedroom, where the large sliding glass doors form a significant part of the elevation and conventional heating solutions could have interrupted the minimalist interior design.

The project therefore demonstrates how specialist glazing can provide both architectural and functional benefits, combining expansive views and natural light with an integrated approach to comfort.

The main challenge at Strand Court was creating a strong connection with the harbour while maintaining the clean, minimal aesthetic required for the renovated apartment.

The waterfront location meant that the views were a defining part of the property. Conventional framed doors could have introduced more visual obstruction across the large glazed elevations, so the project required a system capable of providing substantial areas of glass with minimal visible framing.

The sliding doors were therefore used to wrap around the apartment, creating multiple glazed elevations facing the external decking and harbour.

The scale and position of the glazing also needed to work within the existing apartment layout. Automation was incorporated into one elevation so that the doors could still be operated for ventilation even when furniture was positioned directly in front of them.

The project also needed to address comfort within a highly glazed space. Heated glazing was incorporated into the master bedroom to provide the primary heat source while maintaining the clean appearance of the large sliding glass doors.

Together, these requirements meant the glazing needed to provide more than simply access to the exterior. It had to contribute to the apartment's views, natural light, ventilation, heating and overall architectural character.

The renovation transformed Strand Court into a contemporary open-plan waterfront apartment with a much stronger relationship to its surroundings.

Slim-framed sliding glass doors wrap around the apartment, opening the living spaces towards the external decking and creating panoramic views across the harbour.

The minimal framing keeps visual interruptions to a minimum, allowing the surrounding waterfront setting to remain the focus from inside the property.

The full-height glazing also brings natural light deep into the open-plan living areas, creating bright interiors that connect directly with the external seating and dining spaces.

Within the master bedroom, heated glazing provides an additional layer of functionality, using the glazed elevation itself as the sole heat source while maintaining the minimalist appearance of the sliding doors.

The result is a renovated waterfront apartment where the glazing plays a central role in both the architectural design and everyday experience of the home.

Location: Salcombe, Devon