Introduction

A striking new house that blends innovation, beauty, sophistication and comfortable, modern British city living.

Designed by an architect working at one of the world’s leading practices and built by him and his partner, New Fauconberg Cottage replaced a building that had been on the site since 1931. Designed within extremely tight space, planning and financial constraints, it’s a testament to ingenuity and creativity.

The house blends modern design and engineering most commonly seen on the Continent, with a classically British suburban format: Front garden – house - back garden. The house is also slightly rustic and comfortable, with sharp and perfectly engineered components; windows, doors and external render, the charm coming from the counterpoint of those elements.

The two first-time construction builders spent four years of weekends – around 400 days – to realise their vision.

Layout

The house consists of a large living area, kitchen, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms with small gardens in front of and behind the building. The ground floor consists of an entrance area, a galley kitchen, the main living area, a bathroom and two bedrooms, one of which is used as an office. The kitchen features a striking ‘book-cut’ marble-clad wall and is lit by a large skylight.

A staircase that lands at the front door, leads to a first floor master bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and a dressing room/laundry. The staircase, bathroom and dressing room are lit by large skylights.

Materials

The house was made of today’s construction materials; externally insulated aerated concrete blocks on the ground floor and structural insulated panels (SIP) on the first. The large aluminium-framed windows are double-glazed and the building is effectively air-tight. The temperature inside the house is regulated by the mass of the walls, which absorb and slowly release warmth in the winter and cool the house in the summer. Electric underfloor heating was installed in the kitchen and both bathrooms. There is no boiler or central heating system. Hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms is provided by two instant electric water heaters. As a result, the electricity bills very low per month and can be fully produced via solar energy . No other forms of energy are used.

Excluding the original purchase price, the project is proving that new designed family homes can be both: affordable and sustainable.