Glass Facade with Timber Frame | Hayle House Cornwall

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Hayle House Cornwall

Hayle House is a contemporary self-build home in Cornwall that combines a dramatic glass facade with timber frame construction to maximise natural light and panoramic countryside views. Designed with a strong connection to the landscape, the project balances modern glazing technology with the warmth and character of natural materials.

IQ worked alongside Create Design South West to develop a bespoke glazing package centred around a large structural glass façade integrated within a glu-lam timber structure. Slim framed sliding doors, structural glazing and aluminium windows were carefully coordinated to create a seamless relationship between the interior spaces and the surrounding landscape.

The result is a contemporary rural home that feels both grounded in its setting and remarkably light-filled, demonstrating the architectural potential of combining timber and structural glass.

Products Used

Featured In

Cornish Building Awards 2024 Winner

Project Partners

Architect: Create Design South West

Contractor/builder: Lime Construction Ltd

Structural Engineer: Martin Perry Associates

Location

South West

Glass facade with timber frame for a contemporary self-build

The brief for Hayle House was to create a self-build home that fully embraced its countryside setting. Maximising views and natural daylight was therefore central to the architectural design from the earliest stages.

A large structural glass façade was integrated directly within the timber frame, allowing the architecture to remain visually open while celebrating the beauty of the exposed timber structure. This combination of natural materials and frameless glazing creates a striking architectural composition that feels both contemporary and connected to the landscape.

The extensive glazing transforms the interior experience, allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the home and providing uninterrupted views across the surrounding Cornish countryside.

Structural glazing within a timber frame

The defining feature of the project is the large glass facade with timber frame, where structural glazing has been carefully integrated within the glu-lam structural system.

Using thermally broken structural glazing, the façade achieves a minimal appearance with very little visible framing. This allows the exposed timber structure to remain the dominant architectural element while the glazing provides transparency, daylight and uninterrupted views.

The result is a clean transition between architecture and landscape, creating a strong indoor-outdoor connection throughout the home.

Corner-opening sliding glass doors

At the base of the structural glass façade, slim framed sliding glass doors wrap around the building in a U-shaped configuration.

The corner junctions were designed as frameless connections to align visually with the structural glazing above, creating a continuous glazed elevation. When opened, the sliding doors allow the living spaces to extend directly into the surrounding landscape while maintaining the minimal aesthetic of the façade.

This combination of structural glass and sliding doors helps dissolve the boundary between inside and outside while maximising ventilation and usability.

Performance considerations

Achieving exceptional views was only one aspect of the glazing design. The specification also needed to deliver thermal performance, durability and long-term sustainability suitable for a modern self-build home.

The structural glazing system was selected to maximise daylight while maintaining high levels of thermal performance. The slim framed sliding doors and aluminium windows were coordinated with the wider façade design to ensure consistency across the building envelope.

Natural materials, including timber and glazing, work together to create an environmentally responsive building that feels connected to its setting without compromising energy performance. The project demonstrates how a carefully designed glass facade with timber frame can create a contemporary home that is both architecturally ambitious and sensitive to its rural context.

Technical details

Frameless structural glazing: thermally broken fixing system; 63mm profile depth; max glass thickness 41.5mm; expected Uw 1.1 W/m²K; minimum fixing setback 55mm; profile height 60mm; structure deflection allowance 5mm; integrated within the exposed glulam timber frame to create the principal glass façade
Slim framed sliding doors: 21mm sightline; max tested sliding pane 8.5m² up to 4.0m high and 500kg; glass thickness 26–32mm; typical Uw > 1.1 W/m²K; Air Class 4 / Driving rain Class 7A / Wind Class C4/B5; sound insulation up to 39dB; PAS 24 security; configured as a U-shaped corner-opening arrangement
Glazed corner detail: frameless corner connections between sliding doors and structural glazing to create a continuous glass façade with minimal visible framing
Timber and glass facade: structural glazing integrated within a glulam timber structure to maximise daylight, views and architectural transparency while retaining the warmth of exposed natural materials
Aluminium windows: slim framed aluminium window systems coordinated with the wider glazing package to provide additional daylight, ventilation and thermal performance

Architectural glazing for rural self-build homes

Hayle House demonstrates how structural glazing and timber construction can work together to create a contemporary home that maximises views, daylight and connection to the landscape.

This approach is particularly suited to architects and specifiers designing self-build homes, countryside properties and luxury rural residences where large glazed elevations, exposed timber structures and high-performance glazing need to work as one integrated design solution.

To discuss a similar glass facade with timber frame project, contact IQ Glass for technical advice on structural glazing, slim sliding doors, timber interfaces and bespoke glazing design for rural homes.