Individual House Award

Birchwood House is a large family home located on a steeply sloping site in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Stanley Architects’ brief was to strengthen the connection between the ground-floor living spaces and garden. To this end, the rear elevation has been reconfigured with a glazed double-height volume containing an open-plan kitchen/dining area. 

A two-storey section of the rear elevation and part of the middle reception room floor were removed to introduce a new staircase and open up the space vertically. On the upper level, a ‘veil’ of vertical aluminium fins provides solar control and privacy, while retaining views of the garden. 

Working closely with the architect, specialist contractor AumAxum delivered a complex curtain walling solution incorporating both straight and curved elements. Among the primary challenges was managing the structural loads of the curved glazing, which required bespoke calculations and specialised fixing methods. The façade includes a flush-track sliding door system at ground level, which is paired with a curved glazing section above to form a unified curtain wall envelope. 

Schüco façade systems were selected for their precision engineering and visual quality, with the ASE 67 PD panoramic sliding door fulfilling the project’s thermal, aesthetic, and accessibility requirements. Seamlessly integrating the sliding door and curtain wall system was critical, leading AumAxum to develop bespoke connection details. 

The Schüco ALB solar shading system, incorporating powdercoated rectangular louvre blades, was chosen to reduce solar gain and provide passive shading. AumAxum fabricated bespoke brackets to ensure precise alignment and integration with the glass façade. 

In addition to delivering strong thermal and solar performance, the shading fins contribute to the sensory experience of the home, casting dynamic shadows that change with the time of day and season. A natural ventilation strategy was implemented using stack effect: sliding doors on the ground floor, in combination with high-level openings and solar-powered rooflights, draw warm air upward and out of the building. 

The project’s bold yet contextually and environmentally sensitive approach drew praise from the judges. They felt that the apparent simplicity of the façade belied its technical complexity, and complimented the skills of both the architect and specialist contractor in realising the original design intent.