Sweethaws

New build family home in Ashdown Forest

This 5-bed family home in South East England has a unique design by Smerin architects, utilising timber and frameless glazing to create a luxury home that works in harmony with the surrounding nature. All specialist glazing was designed, supplied and installed by IQ Glass.

Oversized sliding glass doors and frameless structural glass elevations are used around the home to offer the internal living spaces uninterrupted views of the stunning 22-acre site on which the home is based, whilst allowing in a vast amount of natural light. 

 

Featured In

RIBA South East Awards

RIBA - A selection of the winning buildings 

Telegraph - Britain's best new buildings article 

Credit

Architects: Piers Smerin

Location

Ashdown Forest

Maximising the views was an essential part of the design, as the three storey, timber-clad home overlooks a small pond and mini waterfall as well as a variety of unique plants.

On the floor above, frameless structural glass windows afford the same luxury to each of the five bedrooms. The frameless windows were integrated with the timber cladding to conceal the fixing details, resulting in a completely frameless design and a striking contrast between the glass and timber elements. 

On the lower ground floor, surrounding a tranquil salt water pool, the large glass sliding doors are used again with all 5 glass panels sliding for great ease of access, opening the pool area into the surrounding gardens for an indoor-outdoor style of living. 

Due to the harsh environment and high levels of moisture around the indoor pool, marine grade glazing was specified to ensure the slim sliding doors were protected against the salty air.

 

Flush glazed Innovare windows and doors were used for the front elevation of the home and also in the newly built standalone garage over the bridge.

Timber cladding was considered at the earliest stage when designing the glazing package to ensure the glazed elements lined up with the wooden features. This meant that the structural glass windows could be designed to sit behind the timber cladding for a seamless finish that could only be achieved by working closely with the architects. 

Contact the IQ team today to discuss a bespoke glazing package for your next project.

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