Victorians stuck behind a veil of Victorian roof houses in Walthmasto, East London, Catching sun house Emerges as a hidden oasis contained in stability and biofilic design. Got and felt by architect Mark Shaw studio As his personal residence, the 1,453-class house house transforms a pre-mot garage into a bright, nature-filled refuge that stains the boundaries indoors and outside the house.
The house is deliberately accessed through a shared driveway in solitude and is surrounded by gardens on all sides. But within, it opens to live life close to nature for the sky, sunshine, and greenery. The layout of the house revolves around three separate courtyards, each with its own microclimate and purpose: adapted to a winter sunlight, another which is designed to encourage biodiversity, and a third that serves as a transitional garden corridor.
Weaves the landscape design through the house and around the house to create a uninterrupted relationship between the manufactured form and greenery. Prize winning landscape developed in collaboration with designer Charlie HawksPlanting scheme increases biodiversity and invites nature to every corner of property.
Biofilic principles are embedded in the architecture of the entire home. Natural lighting is invited to every corner through carefully placed openings and skylights, while the material palette – wood, exposed concrete block, and anodized aluminum – provides a grounded, touch experience that complements the surrounding vegetation. The ideas are deliberately implicated: a neighboring wildlife reserve, in the courtyard, and towards the open sky.
The home’s immersive natural environment is a glass-composed outdoor shower. Located in the eastern courtyard, the deep trapped tub is set within a succulent, its position allows for the optimal morning sun on the east-west axis of the greenery almost the tropical pocket-house. Together, bathing and shower turn daily rituals into moments of calm, rare within the city.
At a system level, holding the sun house is a model of energy-skilled life. It integrates passive solar strategies including orientation and thermal mass with an air source heat pump and a whole-House heat recovery ventilation system. Insulation is increased across, which allows the house to remain cold in summer and to be warm in winter with minimal energy use.
“More than just one home, the project is a symbol of a philosophy of welfare and sustainable design, which stands for the studios, to create a sanctuary at the core of daylight, greenery and thoughtful places,” shares Shaw. “The difference between the manufactured form and nature promotes a restructural environment, and provides a peaceful return from the movement of urban life.”
Despite its oasis such as aesthetics, the project included a complex interaction process, including 27 party wall agreements secure. This effort was well worth it because the design is an inspirational example of how architecture can grow well through a deliberate dialogue with nature.
For more information about catching sun house and studio, travel sticky,
photography by James Britain,
