Grand Designs architect is selling £2.25m war bunker home

With its striking exterior, it is perhaps unsurprising that this converted Second World War bunker is home to an architect.

But this is not your ordinary house – or architect, as Lincoln Miles has appeared on TV’s Grand Designs with a previous project that was named one of the show’s top designs.

Both of Lincoln’s properties are on the Isle of Wight. And his latest project for sale is his home that he shares with partner artist Lisa Traxler. 

It is currently up for grabs for £2.25million and is being sold by estate agents Spence Willard. Lincoln previously converted an Isle of Wight bungalow that Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud named as one of this all time favourites.

Alongside the main house, there are two Nissen huts that would have been occupied by defence forces during the Second World War 

The converted bunker sits on an acre of land on the south coast of the Isle of Wight and has uninterrupted views of the Channel.

On the exterior, there is a combination of fibre cement panels and brise soleil, which is an architectural feature of horizontal and vertical blades to reduce heat gain through large glass doors and windows

The original concrete bunker has been incorporated into the design of the main house and is currently used as a gallery space

The house has incorporated the existing concrete bunker as a gallery space and there two Nissen huts have been repurposed as studio workspaces and occasional rentals.

A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, in a half-cylindrical shape.

Meanwhile, the historical bunker was a Royal Air Force radar station and monitored the south coast of Britain during the Second World War.

The property has brise soleil on the outside – horizontal and vertical blades to reduce heat gain through large glass doors and windows

The historical bunker was a Royal Air Force radar station and monitored the south coast of Britain during the Second World War

The kitchen has a colourful worktop with a bespoke design that matches with the fins of the brise soleil on the property’s exterior

The house in the village of St Lawrence is accessed via a curved driveway that has parking for several cars.

The driveway leads to a carport, which has a grass mount as its canopy that also incorporates the building into the hillside.

The fins of the bruise soleil on the outside of the building were designed by Lisa, with a nod to patterns of camouflage.

The living room has a cast concrete staircase that curves down around a double height living space for entertaining

The living room has a log burner surrounded by a chimney wall that is clad in ‘bubble-gum aluminium’ and views of the sea

The contemporary property is in the village of St Lawrence and has been built into the hillside on a generous plot of land

The architect is Lincoln Miles and he has embraced the towering concrete walls to help create a monolithic cave-like setting

Inside the property there is a long corridor that links the two ground floor portions with the kitchen and living space in the south west corner and the bunker in the east section.

Its towering concrete walls create a monolithic cave-like setting and have been used by the current owners as a gallery and events space.

It has polished concrete with underfloor heating and spruce cladding overhead.

The designer living space has contrasting textures, including polished concrete with underfloor heating and spruce cladding overhead

There is a large dining table next to a floor to ceiling window that provides views of the bunker and outdoor garden space

There are three bedrooms on the first floor of the property, two of which boast spectacular sea views and share a wide balcony

A lightwell separates the dining space and kitchen that is arranged around a worktop that has also been designed by Lisa.

There is a cast concrete staircase that curves around a double height living space where there is a log burner surrounded by a chimney wall that is clad in ‘bubble-gum aluminium’.

There are three bedrooms on the first floor, two of which enjoy sea views and share a wide balcony.

Alongside the house are two Nissen huts that would have been occupied by defence forces during the Second World War. They are both insulated, with each containing a log burner and washing facilities.

Both of the converted Nissen huts on the property are insulated, and each of them contain a log burner and washing facilities

The war bunker is home to architect Lincoln Miles and his artist partner Lisa Traxler (pictured on Grand Designs when they converted a bungalow on the Isle of Wight)

The house in the village of St Lawrence on the Isle of Wight is accessed via a curved driveway that has parking for several cars

Lincoln Miles Architecture has been responsible for the highest concentration of Grand Designs homes in one road in Britain.

Featured in the Grand Designs TV series in 2010 when he converted a bungalow, the architect also was short-listed for the show’s awards in 2013 and nominated as one of the presenter Kevin McCloud’s top ten Grand Design projects.