Cornwall Leverlake Houses

On Cornwall’s north coast, where slate cliffs taper into turquoise coves and the weather turns on a dime, this project takes its cues from the land and sea. The architecture is quiet and assured—rooted by coursed local stone and lifted by timber façades finished in Nakamoto Forestry’s Gendai and Pika-Pika, applied in a curated palette of colours. Together they form a material duet: the depth and shadow of charred cedar set against the crisp grain of brushed boards, each surface shifting with the Cornish light.

The composition is deliberately simple—pitched volumes, generous openings, and sheltered thresholds—so the craft and textures can do the talking. Stonework grounds the buildings in the vernacular, while the Yakisugi-treated cladding brings a contemporary precision and a proven resilience to salt, wind, and rain. Gendai provides a refined char with subtle sheen; Pika-Pika, with its pronounced brushing, reveals a lively, tactile grain. Used in several colourways, the timber reads like a family of tones rather than a single note, lending rhythm across elevations and between dwellings.

Inside–out connections are choreographed to the coast: long views to the horizon, low sills catching passing squalls, and courtyards that temper the breeze. The envelope favours durability and low maintenance, but it also honours the wabi-sabi of weathering—the way stone warms and timber silvers at the edges. The result is a contemporary Cornish ensemble: calm, robust, and unmistakably of its place, translating regional character into a sustainable, modern language of coastal living.

Yakisugi product used in this project: