The brief

A family of four asked for a house that felt private from the street and open to the garden. The plot is narrow, with neighbours on both sides and its only long view to the east.

The response

We organised the rooms around a planted courtyard that brings morning light deep into the plan. Thick lime-rendered walls keep the interior cool through summer, and a single oak roof ties the living spaces together.

The result

The house needs no mechanical cooling for most of the year, and every room has two sources of daylight.