niallmclaughlin.com

This family house is a new building tucked into the shell left by the party walls of a demolished house in a Conservation Area. The 8 metre square site has seven different party wall neighbours. The site has almost no access to air or light at ground level. By recessing the front facade we open a chink into the block then burrow into the middle of it. From here the building is conceived as a spiralling journey up towards daylight.

The roof the house is a collection of structures for admitting light and air. The rooftop array is controlled by temperature and weather sensors to optimise the buiilding's posture in relation to the elements. This system is fully automated and linked into the air conditioning. The ain living accommodation is at the top of the house. This area is flooded with light from above. We have designed screens, blinds and baffles inside and outside to hold the light and create changing forms within. This building won the Daily Telegraph Contemporary House of the Year Award 1997.