From timber to stone and steel, cladding brings character to any home. A distinctive façade can remain pristine with minimal upkeep, or weather gently over the years for an attractive patina. Low-maintenance and offering a structure protection during extreme weather, some cladding also helps to keep homes warm in winter and cool in summer.
WORDS JAYNE DOWLE
1 AWARD-WINNING PROJECT
This three-bedroom house in the village of Middleton Tyas, north Yorkshire, is clad in sandstone and copper-hued Corten steel. It was built for recently retired roofing company owners Paul and Julie Trelease, and won Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Yorkshire and National Awards in 2023 (architecture.com).
‘The idea was to replicate and extend the sandstone walls of the site boundary and work in other finishes,’ says architect Richard Lamming. The house features lead copings and Corten steel on the front door and the kitchen’s exterior. ‘Lead and copper mining are part of the area’s rich history,’ he explains.
Measuring 289sqm, the two-storey home has loadbearing masonry walls and a combination of beam-and-block and timber roof structures. There’s an open-plan kitchen with dining area, a living room, entrance gallery, and several internal courtyards bringing in light.
The project cost around £950,000 in 2016, with a plot cost of £170,000. It incorporates an old walled tennis court and part of the garden of Paul and Julie’s former home. (elliottarchitects.co.uk)
2 REMODELLED PROPERTY
A combination of cedar and Corten steel cladding features on this remodelled 360sqm, six-bedroom family home in the Bethesda suburb of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. Meryl and Joseph Governski, a lawyer and data company CEO in their forties who have two children, bought the house because they love the area, which is close to the Potomac River.
‘Cedar shingles, which are common in the region, create a textural contrast with the Corten panels,’ says architect Colleen Healey. ‘Both are economical and will continue to integrate into the surroundings with time.’
A garage at the front of the 30-year-old, two-storey property was replaced with a lawn for the children to play on and rebuilt to one side of the house with Meryl and Joseph’s new en-suite bedroom above it. Interior changes include rooms knocked through to create generously sized spaces.
It was completed in 2021, and a similar project would cost around �
