Green House

Green House is located on a small back lane in the Clyde Circus Conservation Area of Tottenham. The backland sites around the land comprised coach houses, orchards, greenhouses and market gardens, a small area of re-wilded woodland opposite the house remains.

The design for Green House draws on the natural history and verdant character of the site: providing a contemporary re-imagining of a domestic greenhouse. A design that blurs the boundaries between inside and outside spaces and re-greening of a once unloved site.

A central, top-lit, riad-style atrium connects all living spaces, upstairs and downstairs, and brings daylight into the heart of the house. The atrium assists in cooling the house on hot days through natural stack ventilation with solar glass windows fitted with temperature and rain sensors.

The living spaces are open plan to maximise the sense of space and flexibility of use. 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 inside spaces.

The simple ‘block’ form of the house was chosen for its simplicity and efficient use of the Cross-Laminated timber (CLT) frame. The end grain has been deliberately exposed and growth rings displayed to visually express how the material has grown. The internal doors are made from CLT notched into the frame avoiding door frames and architraves.

The material palette has been kept to a minimum, avoiding dressings and linings to the primary structure and to minimise waste. The house is heated via an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP), includes PVs on the roof and achieves 29 kWh/m2/year and 410 kgCO2/m2 over the building lifecycle. All well below RIBA Climate Challenge 2030 targets.

The south-facing front façade 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 provide solar shading on hot summer days.

All the spaces within the house have views out to sky or greenery. Double-aspect long views are created throughout the house to front and rear gardens and surrounding woodland and trees, creating a further sense of openness that connects inside and out.

Awards

RIBA House of the Year 2023 – Winner
RIBA London Project Architect of the Year 2023 – Winner – Claire Taggart
RIBA Award 2023 – Winner
NLA Award Environmental Sustainability Prize 2023 – Winner
Wood Awards 2022 – Highly Commended
Structural Timber Award 2022 – Winner
Manser Medal 2021 – Finalist

Haringey Design Award 2021 – Overall Winner
Haringey Design Award, Most Sustainable Building 2021 – Winner
Haringey Design Award, Best New Home 2021 – Winner