Spruce House replaces an existing 1960s infill which was in poor structural and material condition. With no salvageable aspects of the previous building, ao-ft set out to design a home that minimized its carbon footprint through all aspects of its construction. Investigating several building methods led ao-ft to design the main structure in CLT for its environmental performance credentials and its beauty as an exposed internal finish. The custom-milled prefabricated panels sequester and store 37 tonnes of carbon dioxide, and were assembled on site in just five days. Leaving the panels exposed inside reduces the need for other building materials like plaster or paint, also ensuring the home features as little plastic as possible.

To create a new strong bond between interior and exterior living spaces, ao-ft designed the ground floor to feel embedded within the garden; the resulting floorplan echoes that of a traditional Victorian terrace house. On entry, visitors step down half a meter from street level into an open-plan, sunken living space bordered by cast concrete window seats and ground-to-ceiling glazing. ao-ft’s design decision to lower the foundation 50cm down into the plot places occupants level with the garden beds when inside, dually creating a generous sense of volume of the ground floor. Custom built-in joinery conceived as a piece of furniture conceals a media unit and under-stair WC, and links to a long stainless-steel kitchen and sunken dining space.

ao-ft has continued the use of light, verticality, and layering to create a subtle, understated interior. Raw structural materials – timber, stainless steel, polished concrete, white perforated steel – are deliberately arranged to transfer light and catch shadows, creating ever-changing texture and pattern throughout the house.

Drawing on past experience in industrial design, ao-ft designed the staircase to be a kit-parts that could be assembled and disassembled. The 24 individual interlocking treads act as the spine of the house and allow light and air from the large overhead skylight to pass through the perforations. The 5mm steel was laser cut and robotically folded to millimeter precision before being craned in and measure tested, removed, and powder coated off-site before final installation.

Two bedrooms and a family bathroom occupy the first floor, with the third main bedroom and ensuite bathroom located on the second story. The bedrooms benefit from openable solid Spruce panels which when open, transform both the interiors with natural light and views and the exterior facade with playful configurations.

ao-ft’s commitment to design is apparent throughout; full-height CLT doors with inlaid handles and spring-loaded door catches lay flush when open, a complex yet satisfying design detail that further conveys the commitment to continuous sightlines and space within Spruce House.

Spruce House also features a standalone design studio at the rear of the long 12-meter-deep garden. The space is constructed using traditional timber framing with larch glulam beams on the outside, and spruce on the inside. The studio features clerestory windows and exposed overhead rafters and opens onto a second smaller rear garden to offer natural cross ventilation through the space. A peaceful and carefully cultivated garden links the house and studio, designed to reintroduce pollinating plants and increase biodiversity.

Spruce House and Studio mark an important milestone for ao-ft; not only is it the office’s first completed project, but it is also the realization of technical capability, rigorous research, and intense passion for functional and highly detailed design. Spruce House and Studio sets an exciting precedent for infill sites across the United Kingdom and demonstrates the benefits of sustainable, flexible construction in creating buildings that enliven their context and make comfortable places for people to enjoy for many years to come.

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Inside, the pavilion is divided into two distinct areas: a secluded workspace and a cozy corner for relaxation. Birch plywood, the material at the heart of the design, ties the structure to its natural surroundings. Together with a cork-lined ceiling, it creates a warm, inviting atmosphere and enhances acoustics, making the space ideal for quiet contemplation or music appreciation. South-facing openings invite light and warmth, while the curved walls embrace the trees, deepening the connection to the garden.

A defining moment in the design process came when the pavilion’s beams aligned with the birch trees, forming a striking fan-like silhouette. This alignment crystallized the pavilion’s purpose—a thoughtful integration of structure, light, and nature. As a result, this small “music box” within the garden feels perfectly at home, offering a space of quiet focus and harmonious connection to its surroundings.

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THISS Studio guided their clients to see the opportunities the existing floor area allowed; in leaning into the existing building to create more usable space, the architects avoided the need for a carbon-intensive and costly extension. THISS Studio’s forward-thinking approach opened up space in the client’s budget for beautiful and interesting finishes and furnishings that echo the client’s personal style, and importantly, add significant design value to the project. THISS Studio’s solution involved opening up the back of the existing house and borrowing space from outside by installing a cantilevered dining bench framed by three oversized sash windows that flood the open-plan kitchen with natural light. THISS Studio designed a bespoke kitchen handmade locally using FSC-certified pine timber. As the centerpiece of the home, the new kitchen diner radiates openness and authenticity, enhanced by a generous ceiling height overhead. Early on in the project, THISS Studio discovered a large void under the floor, as advocates for leaning into the building’s existing structure, the practice took advantage of the extra space, creating a level threshold to the garden and a stepped entrance into the kitchen. By removing the floor the architects were able to create an additional metre of ceiling height.

THISS Studio has skilfully layered natural tones of wood, terracotta, and pale cream acoustic wall panels made from recycled paper waste. A bespoke floor-to-ceiling mint green shelving unit accentuates the room’s sense of volume, and floral light fixtures are key moments of playfulness that echo the family’s bright personalities. Connectivity between the interiors and garden has been kindly curated. The terracotta tiled flooring flows out from the interior, forming the circular garden patio. Inside, a subtle tonal shift in the tiles completes the continuation of this circle, happily dubbed the ‘disco ball patio’. Meticulously crafted Douglas fir timber frame glazing fills the kitchen with natural light and offers direct views out into the garden. Beneath, a sunlit built-in bench seat provides an ideal spot for family and friends to come together, a social focal point in the home. THISS Studio adopted a cost-effective solution to achieving a large area of glazing in the kitchen by using sash windows in timber frames, a more economical way to create large openable areas of glazing.

Outside, a curved aluminum canopy projects outwards from the building’s corner. This bespoke feature was laser cut from 6mm recycled aluminum and fixed above the south-facing windows to provide shade and weather protection for the Douglas fir windows. Its organic shape adds character and whimsy whilst balancing the vertical appearance of the rear elevation. This sculptural gesture is playfully mirrored below by a smaller aluminum ledge that doubles as a seat or table. The rest of the ground floor also underwent renovations. The previous kitchen was located at the front of the home in what would have been a sitting room. The room has been restored back to its original condition, becoming a restful living/study space painted in butter yellow. A small WC and utility room were installed in the center of the ground floor plan off the hallway. The interiors are bright, colorful, and natural, and imbue a warm sense of character. The project is a masterclass in how sustainability can be achieved on a budget when approached thoughtfully. No concrete was used in the final design as all works were completed on the existing foundations of the property, resulting in a retrofit with an impressively small carbon footprint. THISS Studio has prioritized the specification of natural, renewable, and recyclable materials throughout the design. FSC-certified pine and Douglas fir wood were selected for their durability and sourced from Europe, cutting out long journeys in the material supply chain. Additionally, the choice of aluminum for the curved canopy is informed by the material’s infinite recyclability.

By making the property work harder for the client’s needs instead of wasting budget and carbon to create more space via a costly extension, THISS Studio has created a spacious, sophisticated, and bright family home that is punctuated with personality and charm. An exercise in unconventional composition and craftsmanship, the practice’s thoughtful use of space ensures that playfulness finds its place amongst inherent functionality. Sash Scott, Founder, THISS Studio said: ‘Building bigger does not always mean you’ll have a space with functionality and quality. We worked with our clients to understand what they really needed as a family, which was actually better, more usable space. In rethinking the home as a team, we have saved a huge amount of carbon and allowed our clients’ budget to be redirected into quality, more sustainable materials and fittings that means their home has a sense of beauty, and they will love being there for many years to come.’ Clients said: ‘THISS Studio has done a terrific job in opening up the space to suit our family’s needs. The two front rooms have a really beautiful feel and so much more practical space, serving now as an office and family room. The kitchen, previously very boxed in and dark, is now light, airy, and uplifting. We really wanted it to be a sociable and convivial hub, a place where we could cook as well as socialize. A built-in bench seat allows for a generously-sized table, surrounded by views of the garden and trees through the beautiful windows. The natural timber and wall and ceiling panels add warmth and character. Sash and the team fully grasped the core of our vision, helping us to realize we didn’t need to build outwards to create more functional space. The outcome is so special and different, the careful rethinking of space has avoided the environmental impact of an extension, instead creating something better and more beautiful within a footprint we could afford.’

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The roof profile of the original cottage is evoked in that of the new house, while the distinct angled elevations give the architecture a strong geometric quality both externally and internally. This is further emphasized by the 2m diameter circular roof light over the spiral aluminum staircase connecting the three main floors. The rooflight can be fully opened for natural ventilation creating a powerful connection with the outdoors. The facades of the new building are sheathed in perforated aluminum mesh in a soft copper-brown tone that preserves the memory of the original house. They also provide privacy and screening from solar gain. Gianni Botsford says, “Our response to this sensitive and overlooked context is led by the notion of local adaptation and was carried out through careful and forensic analysis of the site to determine ways of providing privacy for the occupants of the house and neighbors, long views out to the borrowed landscape of back gardens, access to sunlight and daylight, acoustic separation, and security.”

A series of physical study models made by Gianni Botsford Architects were used to investigate the site as well as the relationship of the new house to the Foster Associates extension while focussing on a strong sense of reciprocity between the two. This led to an approach whereby the form and volumes of new and old elements of the project were both of similar architectural stature yet clearly delineated in the design. It also encouraged a formal response optimizing the relationship of Reciprocal House with its surrounding landscape, especially that of the tall mature trees surrounding its 56 sqm roof terrace. The landscaping makes use of the demolished brickwork from the original house playing on the idea of embodied memory while repurposing existing materials. Overall the project was designed to minimise its impact on the environment, with passive design incorporated from the outset. The house is nestled beneath existing trees which provide natural shading from solar gain, while the window sizes and orientation have been optimized to maximize daylight and natural ventilation. The spiral stair provides a vertical natural ventilation shaft for the whole house, which together with an opening rooflight above, will allow warm air to be exhausted during warm weather via the stack effect.

Materials with high thermal mass have been used throughout, in particular exposed concrete. This together with the natural ventilation strategy will ensure the house stays cool without active cooling. Conversely, enhanced thermal insulation and air tightness minimize the requirement for space heating, which is provided via an acoustically attenuated air source heat pump and underfloor heating. As well as being heated by an air source heat pump, an EV charger has been installed in the front lightwell. No gas-burning appliances are installed in the kitchen, meaning the house is all-electric with no gas supply required. Water consumption is kept to a minimum through the use of low-flow fittings and a grey water recycling system which treats water from showers and baths for reuse within the house for WC flushing. Rainwater recycling and green roofs further reduce water consumption and runoff. Gianni Botsford says, “Due to the complex form, a decision was taken to construct the new house adjoining the retained extension in concrete and to leave the concrete visually exposed throughout to reduce the use of finishes, to temper the light, and to benefit from the thermal mass. The structure of the new house is optimized to allow for the thinnest possible wall and floor build-ups.”

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To protect the privacy of the occupants and the many surrounding neighbours the roof form is mono-pitched towards the courtyard. High level windows provide framed views of tree foliage while low level views look directly into the garden and large tree trunk. The height of internal walls in the courtyard creates a protected enclave, and adds a generous sense of volume within the garden.

Constructed from handmade bricks and cross-laminated timber (CLT), the natural materials are combined to minimise impact on the environment while an exhaust air heat pump is utilised to lower operational carbon. The key detail of the house is the seamless exposed CLT ceiling that creates a clean fold in the transition between the two pitched ceilings of the L-shaped plan using a glue laminated beam embedded into the roof construction.

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Throughout the interior, the building reveals itself as a series of intriguing moments. The interior brings together a collection of archetypal domestic spaces – the room, the landing, courtyard, porch, bay, nook, long gallery, garret, cloister, perron stair, privy, library, chapel, barn, light house, gallery, workshop, attic, all threaded across three buildings. Each one is linked to a memory of the archetype of these spaces, expressing a range of lightness and darkness. Created to display objects and art collections, the interior spaces were crafted to reveal, extend and expose nooks, walls and openings to form a series of gallery-like spaces throughout the house.

Text provided by the architect.

Until we started writing this text, September 21, 2014, we have worked with this project in an intense and very fast process, all done in less than eight months, and now when the construction has already begun and the intensity is emphasized, because it must be completed by the end of November, we got out a small interval on a flight to a work that flies, allowing us to reflect a little on the project, its motives, needs and possible realities or virtues. We understand that one of the first questions that everyone will ask, ourselves included, is why is there such an exaggerated use of the curve, why a simple space with an orthogonal layout of original pillars, eventually becomes a complex space dense and at the same time smooth and continuous?

The answer to the first question is, in fact, so banal as all realities usually are: It is purely an economic issue. The concept of secondhome involved the unavoidable need, quite achieved finally, of occupying with small work spaces every corner and every area bathed in daylight, and, of course, the need to access each of these different areas spread the ends; the need for there to be nothing wasted, there is no corner that is not used for something, there is no angle where someone can’t sit, work, talk or relax. This handling of the economy, in its broadest and original meaning, up to its maximum limit, is something that always leaves us very satisfied with the accomplishment; but on the other hand, this high density implies full occupancy and use of space to the limit, it becomes one of our greatest unknowns about how it will really work in the future, with so many people working together in highly concentrated areas.

Therefore, we try to limit this potential chaos that could result in a maze of complexity, with two tricks: First with a permanent visual and physical fluidity of the whole, which prevents you from feeling lost or locked in anywhere; and second with full control of the sound, not only with absorbent carpets and ceilings, but also the continuous curve that spreads the sound in all directions. And also to use this continuity as an antidote to the density, we achieve side reactions that increase the strength of the entire space, making it a whole, unique and united, appearing larger and endless. And that is exactly our question these days: Will it really be like this in the end? Will it really be a space in which the transparency and reflections run out while simplify and make it so complex that they open the space and make it infinite and cozy at the same time? And more importantly, will we end getting a space where architecture is dissolved in a homespun air, to do just that … which is exactly what Sam and Rohan commissioned us at the start: An office as a home? …… Or was it a house as an office?

“In five to ten years we will all work at home. But then we will need bigger homes, big enough to use for meetings. Offices will have to be converted to homes” Rem Koolhas, The Generic City 1994

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As the Normans discovered and introduced to this country, limestone, when kept freshly wet from the quarry remains soft enough to more easily carve before calcifying for strong fortifications, initially helpful in successfully establishing conquests before being employed for religious and buildings of state. For arguably better weathering, fire and structural integrity that knowledge and skill of combining material and structure to help drive and give form to the architecture has somewhat been lost with the ubiquitous layering of cladding over frame.

Using quarry found finishes, part carved and abandoned stone columns, revealed cloisters and mosaic floors 15 Clerkenwell Close at first alludes to a local archaeology, but also raises questions on our architectural heritage and its responsibility within a broader culture. Reminding us the literacy of the built environment is based on understanding and disseminating through building the poetic possibilities inherent within the structural and aesthetic qualities of all materials available that make up the vocabulary of all architectural languages.

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The form of the building takes inspiration from the 19th century glasshouses — built by the preeminent horticulturalist James Veitch — that previously occupied the site at South Park. It frames new landscaped spaces and is designed to be sustainable not only because it has the potential for ongoing revenue generation, but also in terms of construction approach where we have used CLT and an innovative new brick made from waste products. This is the first time this product has been used in the UK.

Text provided by the architect.