IQ Glass' Projects Featured on Channel 4’s House of the Year

Two projects with glazing by IQ Glass, Clayworth Cottage and Bury Gate Farm, were featured on Channel 4’s House of the Year.

In both cases, the judges picked up on things our glazing directly delivers: sharp detailing, easy access and strong views out to the landscape.

Clayworth Cottage: Accessible layout built around glazing

Clayworth Cottage in Dunstable (Arkle Boyce Architects, RIBA East Award 2025) was described by the RIBA judges as accessible living in a very stylish building with a “sharp and crisp” design language; “the details surprise you.”

The glazing package is a big part of that:

• Floor‑to‑ceiling slim framed sliding doors with stepless, flush thresholds give wheelchair access straight out from all main rooms, with 21mm sightlines and panes over 400kg that keep the elevations clean and the views uninterrupted.
• Open corner sliders in the main living space allow the whole corner of the room to move, so the garden side opens right up.
• Casement windows and clerestory glazing bring light into the centre of the house and keep head heights consistent.

On the show, the living space was described as “open, light filled, connected to the natural world … all I see is natural landscape”. That comes down to full‑height glass, minimal framing and corners that slide away instead of being propped on a post.

There were some practical challenges on site: the low roof overhang meant a crane couldn’t be used. Our installation team used two glazing robots to move the units off stillages and into place, keeping control of tolerances on the heavy panes.

All units are thermally broken with low‑e coatings, working with the tree cover and roof overhang to reduce overheating and heat loss. The glass forms a key part of how the building works day‑to‑day and how the owners move around their home.

Bury Gate Farm: Triple glazing in a modern country house

Bury Gate Farm in the South Downs National Park (Sandy Rendel Architects – RIBA South East Award 2025, Sussex Heritage Trust 2024, Mansar Medal shortlist) was described on the show as having “sublime elegance”, and as “a country house for the 21st century”.

The glazing is central to that:

• Triple glazing throughout the main elevations.
• Long runs of slim framed sliding doors to the east and south, forming a colonnaded terrace and continuous glazed line to the garden.
• Oversized triple glazed casement windows lined up with the sliders below to create a double‑height central hall.
• Full‑height tilt‑and‑turn casements to the north and east elevations to bring light into corridors and stair areas.
• Flush thresholds and integrated drainage on the sliders so internal floor finishes run straight out to the external terrace.

Praised on House of the Year as having “detailing and execution near faultless”, this project has consistent mullion centres, clean junctions between glass and masonry, and large openings that operate smoothly despite wind exposure on the site.

Triple glazing and thermally broken profiles help the house meet its energy requirements while still using a lot of glass on exposed elevations. The bigger casements are engineered for local wind loads without increasing frame thickness, so the minimal look is retained.

Clayworth Cottage and Bury Gate Farm both show what happens when the glazing is planned properly from the start: clear details, reliable performance and the kind of access and views that get picked up by RIBA judges and TV cameras.

Are you working on a new build or replacement dwelling? Contact us now.