CE+CA transformed this house into a unique, highly efficient home suitable for a young family. The client’s brief sought to create a low energy home that was architectural yet restrained. New skins of insulation and brick envelope the building, improving the thermal performance and giving a new identity to the house. Careful and considered brick detailing helps to control the proportions of the facades, as well as reflecting the client’s fastidious attention to detail.

The project creates a family home that captures amazing views over North Sheffield towards Derbyshire and the Peak District.

From the street, the house is deliberately restrained; a simple two-storey mass of brickwork that retains many of the window openings of the original house, capped by a slate clad roof. A low, sweeping timber canopy projects from the front of the house, suggesting that the external form belies the internal experience of the house.

The house is entered from street level via a low timber lined entrance, which gives way to a triple height stairwell that links all of the levels of the house. At the first floor level, the ceilings follow the line of the new roof to create a dynamic conclusion to the stairwell. Returning to upper ground level, the panoramic window of the lounge space reveals the dramatic topography hidden from the street. The deep timber reveal creates a space in which to sit and look over the garden below, towards the White Peak beyond.

The lower ground floor forms an enfilade of rooms that bring the family together, allowing different activities to take place in adjacent spaces. Deeply recessed glazed elements frame views across the wide terrace and over the trees at the foot of the garden. A herb garden and raised lawn compliment the terraced area and further blur the visual edges with the wider landscape. Generous brick-lined steps lead to the informal garden below.