From Airstrip to Retreat: Landscaping Koto at The Point
A conversation with gold-medal winning landscape designer Darren Hawkes.
At the edge of the north Cornish coast, a rare meeting of sculptural architecture and wild local landscape has quietly come to life.
Koto at The Point is a small retreat of 17 architecturally designed cabins, nestled in five acres of grasslands above Polzeath’s stunning beaches and breaking surf. Each cabin sits gently in the landscape, clean-lined, timber-clad, and low-impact. Their form and placement were designed in harmony with the land, which has been beautifully reimagined by multi-award-winning landscape designer, Darren Hawkes.
Once an open airstrip of mown grass, the site has been transformed into a rich and evolving natural tapestry by Darren, whose practice centres on creating spaces that have sensitivity to their history, architecture and place.
Here, Darren shares how the design brings the land back to life.
How did the local ecology and Cornish character inform your design choices?
“It was clear from the very first site meeting that the character from the surrounding landscape was missing, the site had been used as an airstrip for small planes, and so was short mown grass to the hedgerow. Character was something we’d have to invite back in, we did this through careful selection and placing of trees, some reshaping of contours and introducing new features like the ponds and the Cornish hedges.”
Were there specific materials or planting schemes that felt essential to the site’s spirit?
“We wanted to bring a wild, weathered feel to the landscape, trees and plants that moved with the wind, so lots of which is evocative both visually and aurally. Trees were chosen for their shape as well as their foliage, lots of squat pines and some fab multistem Holm Oaks, Hawthorns and Field Maples.”
How did you approach the relationship between the cabins and the land where they sit?
“From the very beginning of the project, Theo and I were in sync. We set out the cabin positions together and discussed at length the views out from each one: where the finished floor level should sit, and how much privacy we should offer each cabin.
“What’s been a great surprise is how quickly those private spaces have been established. Blurring the edges of where one garden finishes and another begins has worked so well and is only going to improve as the planting establishes. Beyond each garden, the communal landscape is mostly meadow with mown paths divided up loosely with sweeping Cornish hedges.”
What role does sustainability play in your landscape practice, and how did it come into focus at The Point?
“Huge, it’s been fantastic to witness the commitment the clients, Jeremy and Eva Davis, have given to sustainability. It shaped every decision, from water management to biodiversity of species, habitat creation and a desire to engage with nature, to the benefit of all those who visit and choose to stay at The Point. Very little soil was removed from the site, and where excavations have been made, bunding of soil has created a dynamic landscape that’s really exciting. Of course, the real difference has come with the tree planting, which has been extensive, and we continue to build on that in the seasons ahead.”
What feeling do you hope guests experience as they step out of their cabin and into the land you've shaped?
“If people take a deep breath and drop their shoulders, we’ve done our job. The site is in such a beautiful location that you can’t help but be calmed by the countryside and the view of the sea. My hope is that the gardens and landscape simply enhance that feeling of being surrounded by nature.”
Is there a particular time of day or season when the landscape comes alive for you?
“It’s the end of the day for me. The softer light, the quiet, and in the winter, seeing the lights in the cabins come on, add to a longing to get cosy. That’s quite special. Right now, the skylarks are making for great watching in the afternoons, so that’s particularly lovely too.”
