Elizabeth Rose, a former dancer, gives us a tour of her flood-resilient stilt house that sits above the banks of the River Thames | Journal | The Modern House (2024)

In our latest film, former professional dancer and teacher Elizabeth Rose gives us a tour of her innovative stilt house. Sitting pretty above the flood plain on the banks of the River Thames, the timber-clad house, designed by Knox Bhavan, is a lesson in future-proofed architecture that takes cues from its natural surroundings. Watch the film here.

“I don’t think I appreciated the way good architecture can actually transform the way you feel and live,” says Elizabeth. That was until she demolished the 1920s two-storey home in which she’d lived for 19 years and built this contemporary house on the plot. When she first laid eyes on her former place, she thought “it was the ugliest house I’d ever seen! But it was such an amazing location.” The banks may be beautiful – particularly on the blue-skied spring day of our visit – but this spot is prone to flooding. “It’s not for the faint-hearted,” Elizabeth declares. Following a significant flood in 2013, Elizabeth decided the time was right to replace the old house with something energy-efficient and, most importantly, resistant to the rising tides.

Elizabeth embarked on the journey with Knox Bhavan, the practice founded by Simon Knox and Sasha Bhavan, which has extensive experience in completing one-off residential projects. Designed to withstand the plot’s flood risk predicted for the forthcoming century, the house floats above the ground on stilts, so that the river can flow underneath. “The choice of materials was really to do with what would suit the environment,” Elizabeth explains. “I really felt that wooden cladding was one of those elements, and steel balustrades, which you often see on boats, was another.”

To discover more about the project and how the river informed its design, as well as for a closer look at its breathtaking surroundings, watch the film here. And, while you’re there, don’tforget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where you can step into the homes of many more.