Translucent Screens Slide Open to Bring Fresh Breezes Through This London Home

January 05, 2024

Translucent Screens Slide Open to Bring Fresh Breezes Through This London Home

It’s slotted in a row of brick residences but connects with the outdoors via the screens, glazing at the rear, and a skylight roof.

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Project Details:

Location: London, United Kingdom

Architect: Hayhurst & Co. / @hayhurstandco

Footprint: 2,000 square feet

Builder: ReBuild London

Structural Engineer: Ian Wright Associates

Energy Consultant: Mesh Energy

CLT Engineer & Installer: Eurban Ltd.

Garden Design: Ollie Allum

Photographer: Kilian O'Sullivan / @kilianosullivan

From the Architect: "The design for Green House draws on the natural history and verdant character of the site, providing a contemporary and low-energy re-imagining of a domestic-scale greenhouse—a family home that blurs the boundaries between inside and outside spaces, and creates a bold, re-greening of a once unloved site.

"The site now sits between two-story brick houses with pitched tile roofs built in the 2000s and already sub-divided into flats. We saw the redevelopment of the site where Green House now sits as an opportunity to articulate the site’s history for Tom, a photographer, Amadine, a teacher, and their two young children.

"Tom and Amandine were keen to create a five-bedroom home that maximized living space, a sense of height, and access to nature for their growing family. The simple ‘block’ form of the house was chosen for its material and constructional efficiencies. The house is also fossil-fuel free, heated by an air-source heat pump, and with solar panels mounted on the roof to assist with the house’s electricity needs, whilst a water butt collects rainwater from the roof for irrigation.

"A central, top-light, riad-style atrium connects all living spaces upstairs and downstairs, bringing daylight into the heart of the house where side facing windows would not have been possible due to the proximity of the neighboring properties. The atrium also assists in cooling the house on hot days through passive stack ventilation. All the spaces within the house have views out to sky or greenery. Double-aspect long views are created throughout the hose to front and rear gardens and surrounding woodland and trees, creating a further sense of openness that connects inside and out. The curtains wrap around the whole atrium to allow the central dining space to be separated off as an awesome, double-height dining hall as well as providing acoustic absorption to the living spaces.

"The south facing front facade is planted with bamboo, with sliding polycarbonate screens that reference the greenhouses that once stood on the site. The plants and screens softly filter the daylight whilst maintaining privacy and providing solar shading on hot summer days.

"The house is constructed using a cross-laminated timber structure, left exposed internally. The end grain has been deliberately exposed and growth rings displayed to visually express how the material has grown. The design philosophy extends into the details with internal doors made from CLT notched into the frame, avoiding door frames and architraves.

"A fabric-first approach has been taken, with a highly insulated envelope and primary structures exposed as final finishes throughout. The ability to expose the CLT structure internally meant that there was no need for any carbon-heavy plasterboard or linings. Working with a tight budget, many of the materials used in the house have been creatively repurposed from their originally intended uses, e.g. the upstairs floor finish is recycled cork-rubber and the external paving is polished-up reclaimed concrete breeze blocks."