Waterfalls

Contemporary Somerset House

Waterfalls is a contemporary Somerset house extension in West Coker, designed to maximise natural light and frame far-reaching views across the surrounding gardens. Perched on a hillside and enclosed by mature trees, the new part of the property follows the footprint of the original house while introducing a more open relationship with the landscape.

IQ Glass was commissioned to engineer and install the architectural glazing package, combining frameless structural glass, slim sliding glass doors, slim sliding windows, bifolding glass doors, aluminium windows and internal glass doors. The glazing was designed to deliver expansive views with minimal sightlines while supporting the architectural palette of stone, timber and RAL 9007 aluminium.

The result is a large, light-filled residential extension where high-performance glazing is used to connect the main living spaces with the garden while maintaining a controlled and coherent architectural finish.

Products Used

Location

West Coker
Bespoke Invisio structural glass showing views out from the contemporary Somerset house extension - IQ Glass
Invisio structural glass looking out at nature from a lounge space - IQ Glass Contemporary Somerset House
Sieger 120 Bifold doors showing a view of nature at a contemporary Somerset house extension - IQ Glass
Rear elevation with bifold doors for a contemporary Somerset house extension - IQ Glass

Contemporary Somerset house with frameless garden-facing elevations

The design challenge at Waterfalls was to create a highly glazed extension across a substantial 6000 sq ft property without allowing the glazing package to feel visually fragmented. The kitchen, living, dining and entertainment spaces are all positioned towards the rear garden, so the glazed elevations needed to frame the landscape while maintaining a consistent architectural rhythm.

IQ Glass used frameless structural glazing across the rear elevations to create large fixed glass areas with minimal visible framing. In the formal dining space, six structural glass panels were combined with a return section of extra-high floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing the room to open visually towards the mature trees while preserving a clean silicone-jointed glass appearance.

The glazing strategy for this contemporary Somerset house was coordinated around view lines, internal room functions and the external material palette. Structural glass, slim sliding doors, bifolding doors and ventilation windows were detailed together so the extension reads as one integrated architectural glazing package.

Frameless structural glass for kitchen and dining spaces

Frameless structural glass was used as a glass facade across the kitchen, breakfast area and formal dining space. These fixed glazed elevations allow the surrounding garden and mature trees to become part of the internal experience while maintaining the minimal appearance required for the contemporary extension.

Oversized structural glass panels were also used to form a glazed seating nook towards the centre of the extension. This allows a more intimate family space to benefit from the same outward-facing relationship with the garden, while keeping the glass-to-building interfaces precise and visually restrained.

Slim sliding doors, bifolds and ventilation windows

Large slim sliding glass doors were used to open the family spaces towards the garden, creating wide glazed apertures with minimal aluminium framing. These doors allow the main living areas to connect directly with the rear patio and surrounding landscape.

Tall slim framed bifolding doors were matched to the bespoke height of the structural glass panels, helping the rear elevation maintain a consistent vertical rhythm. Slim sliding glass windows were also used on the ground and first floor to provide natural ventilation without disrupting the minimal appearance of the glazed elevations.

All external window and sliding door frames were finished in RAL 9007, creating a consistent aluminium finish across the wider glazing package.

Ultra wide slim sliding doors to contemporary Somerset house extension - IQ Glass
Looking out to nature through slim sliding windows, Contemporary Somerset House- IQ Glass
Frameless structural glass panel return in formal dining space for Waterfalls, a contemporary Sometset house - IQ Glass
Rear elevation of a contemporary Somerset house - IQ Glass

Performance considerations

Performance detailing at Waterfalls was driven by the scale of the glazed elevations, the hillside setting and the need to maintain comfort across large garden-facing openings.

The frameless structural glass was engineered using a thermally broken fixing system, allowing large fixed glass panels to achieve a minimal glass facade while supporting the thermal performance required for a contemporary residential extension. This was particularly important across the kitchen, dining and living spaces, where expansive glass elevations were central to the architectural brief.

The slim sliding doors and bifolding doors were coordinated with the height and alignment of the structural glass panels, allowing opening elements and fixed glazing to work together as one elevation. Slim sliding windows were added where natural ventilation was required, avoiding the need for visually heavier opening window designs.

This allowed the contemporary Somerset house to maximise daylight and garden views while retaining the controlled detailing, minimal sightlines and high-performance glazing required for a large luxury extension.

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; used across the rear elevations, formal dining space, kitchen, breakfast area and glazed seating nook
  • 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; used for oversized garden-facing openings
  • Bifolding glass doors: tall slim framed bifolding doors matched to the bespoke height of the frameless structural glass panels; opening onto the rear patio and coordinated with the rear elevation glazing rhythm
  • Slim sliding windows and aluminium windows: used across ground and first floor areas to provide natural ventilation, daylight and garden views while maintaining a consistent minimal frame language
  • Internal glass doors: installed throughout the property to support daylight movement through the large internal plan and maintain visual connection between internal spaces
  • Aluminium finish: external windows and sliding door frames finished in RAL 9007 for a consistent architectural finish across the glazing package

Waterfalls shows how structural glass, slim sliding doors, bifolding doors and aluminium windows can be coordinated as one architectural glazing package for a large residential extension.

This approach is well suited to architects and specifiers working on contemporary homes where natural light, garden views, minimal sightlines and high-performance glazing need to be resolved across multiple elevations and internal spaces.

To discuss a similar contemporary Somerset house or large residential extension, contact IQ Glass for technical advice and integrated architectural glazing packages.

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