Simon Moxley is an architect who lives in the picturesque residential area of Alum Chine. It is situated between Sandbanks and Dorset by a seven mile stretch of beach. His penthouse sits 30 ft above the ground just 100 yards from a clifftop and has exquisite views over the sea. He has built the apartment, known as Beach Hytte for obvious reasons, because his neighbours allowed him to build on their roof.

Simon has worked alongside his father for ten years designing luxurious homes in Dorset, they have won multiple awards doing so. However he wanted to build something for himself and try things that perhaps his clients felt were too risky and so in 2004 he bought a ground floor flat in Alum Chine for 105,000. He lived in the flat for a few years and felt that it was the ideal place for him to build and so started scouting the area looking for the perfect plot of land. However land in the area is scarce and very expensive so he came up with a solution to his problem.

His flat was located in a 1950s block which had a pitched roof which was typical for buildings built around that time. So Simon decided to try and remove the roof and replace it with his flat. His first hurdle was getting the neighbours to agree to it as there were three other flats in the block. The owner of one of the upstairs flat bought one of the ground floor ones. The other two neighbours were won around by offering to refurbish the tired looking block inside and out in return for the lease of the roof. As all of the neighbours would benefit financially from the refurbishment they would all gain from it.

Simon admits that the hardest part was persuading his neighbours to allow him to remove the roof, after all his was situated on the ground floor. This alone cost him 75,000. Then there were the neighbours in nearby properties who were concerned about their sea views being blocked but he showed them his proposed development which would actually sit lower than the current roof due to the old ridge. Therefore his nearby neighbours would have better sea views with the proposed development so it was a win-win situation for both parties.

However Simon then had to convince the local planning department, they were worried that the additional bulk at such a high level, but Simon amended his drawings again and again until after a year of fine tuning he was given the go ahead. He admits that a lot of patience was involved.

Before building work started he rented out the other flats in the block from his neighbours so that they could then rent somewhere else in the meantime so that they were not inconvenienced by the work. The building was then completely wrapped in scaffolding then plastic so that work could begin at a fast speed involving low impact construction. He used a steel frame so that the block could become more open plan and not be limited by walls but any pieces made elsewhere had to be the right size so that they could be dropped in and assembled on site. Simon still carried on living in his ground floor flat so that he could oversee the work for nine months which allowed him to be involved in every aspect of the construction at the site. He admits that one night the plastic sheeting came loose in a force nine gale and he had to climb the scaffolding and tie it back himself so that water did not enter the building.

European oak was used for the internal cladding and larch from Scotland was used on the exterior. He hand stained the approximate 2,500 sq ft of oak so that it mimicked the weather appearance of driftwood. Joiners worked on all of the wood in house and high quality materials are used throughout. He has an oak staircase leading up to his flat where lets the light stream in and his living area overlooks the beach and cliffs over to the Isle of Wight. He has two walls of glass which open up the whole room and the kitchen is essentially outside. He wanted the inside/outside living due to his frequent trips to the Caribbean and the apartment also has a Nordic feel, he also has a hot tub on the terrace.

The apartment has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and 2,000 sq ft of living space but the glass and removal of walls mean that you can see the sky from everywhere. The oak and marble clad bathroom even has a glass wall but no neighbours can see you, he checked, only birds. His Poliform kitchen has hidden handles and the toilet seats close silently. The music, lighting and security and climate is controlled by a Creston Home Automation System which is one of the first in Britain.

Simon admits that he wanted a home which you would not want to leave, even in the middle of summer, to go to the beach. In winter he wanted a home which was cosy and felt safe and Beach Hytte offers this. The market value for the penthouse is unclear although Simon feels that 600,000 upwards is reasonable. The other flats in the block had been worth around 165,000 but are now thought to be worth around 250,000. Simon feels that the build was horrible at the time but when it was finished he couldnt wait to do it again.

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