Inspiring ideas for building with just one floor There are many reasons why single-storey houses are appealing. You might want taller-than-average ceilings and roof windows in every room; to have each space opening to the garden; or generously sized doorways with flush thresholds. Once any possible constraints are addressed – roof-ridge height restrictions may apply – exciting design opportunities abound for a home on one level.
WORDS EMILY BROOKS
1PAVILION-STYLE HOME
In the greenbelt and a conservation area, this 275sqm, four-bedroom home in Totteridge, north London, was designed by Gregory Phillips Architects to replace a 1960s bungalow. A planning restriction limiting the ridge height of any new-build on the plot made a single-storey structure the only viable option for the single homeowner, who fell in love with the outlook across the open fields to the city beyond.
Built on a hillside, the house has walls of structural glazing overlooking the back garden and the far-reaching views. Its steel-frame construction, infilled with blockwork, contrasts pale brickwork with dark silicone render and dark-stained vertical timber boards. A white brick chimney stack rises from the centre of the building, breaking up its long, low shape. A similar project would cost around £7,000 per sqm. (gregoryphillips.com)
2 CLIMATE ADAPTATIONS
Built in 2021, this four-bedroom house in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia, belongs to retirees who moved back to their home country after living and working overseas. Practice MRTN designed the ironbark eucalyptus and stone-clad home to recede into the landscape, and its metal steel roof references the agricultural sheds found in the surrounding farmland.
The couple’s home cost around £1,618 per sqm to build and has a courtyard layout in three parts. The U-shaped house has living spaces in the middle, an en-suite main bedroom at one end and guest bedrooms at the other, plus two outbuildings. There’s also a roofed outdoor room, enclosed by insect screens, used in the warmer months.
Roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels totalling 14.4kW are connected to battery storage in one of the outbuildings, and rainwater capture helps the house cope with the area’s hot, dry climate. (mrtn.com.au)
3 RURAL RESOLUTION
A couple with two young children built their home on a Herefordshire garden plot they own, but where planning permission for a new-build had been refused in the past. Communion Architects took on the challenge and successfully got appr
