Mono House is a replacement dwelling just outside Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Built within a small rural village, the site sits at the end of a row of houses with open country views.
Commissioned by husband and wife, the house is 230m2 arranged over a single floor. The replaced dwelling was a single storey bungalow and the local authority stipulated a maximum height and area for the new building.
Due to the age and poor quality of the existing seventies fabric, together with the need to increase the floor area significantly, a sustainable new-build construction was concluded as the correct solution to meet the client’s brief.
The clients sought a contemporary home tailored to their lifestyles. As directors running businesses from home, they required practical, comfortable workspaces. The layout provides a generous main bedroom suite and a guest bedroom in a separate wing, linked to the main living spaces by a glazed corridor.
External materials include brick, burnt timber cladding, glass and aluminium. The single-storey, flat-roofed form required depth and articulation to avoid a box-like appearance.
The handmade Danish brick reinforces the dark monochrome palette of the burnt timber. A combination of flush and stepped brickwork add texture and shadow, while a 2.4m datum defines the junction between materials, allowing the blackened larch to wrap the building, occasionally reaching the ground. Internally, the same datum caps the oak panelling throughout.
A slatted aluminium canopy shades the south-facing glazing and adds depth to the main elevation. Set on a concrete plinth, it forms a lightweight structure that leads visitors up the cast-concrete steps to the entrance.
Constructed using SIPS panels, the house benefitted from reduced build time and improved energy performance. Glulam beams within the SIPS system achieved the long spans without steel.
