Purcell was commissioned to design a family home with a light, open and elegant feel using traditional materials. Understanding the clients, their needs as a family and their aspirations for the house was key to unlocking the final design. The long, narrow site is sandwiched between two existing houses. Purcell's concept comprises two buildings; a two storey main house set back from the road which visually connects with its complementary, single story garden pavilion. The client wanted to ensure that all the spaces are used to their full potential. A striking feature chimney creates the heart of the home, while the wide angled entry immediately provides vistas of the various spaces which lead into an open plan kitchen and double height living room. The living room is set a couple of steps lower than the rest of the ground floor, deliberately amplifying the space and the sculptural form of the chimney feature. The oak steps down into the double height living quarters wraps around the space becoming storage drawers and grows up into the space creating shelves and further storage. An oak, open tread staircase wraps behind the chimney to the first floor private sleeping quarters. The key driver of the design was to create as green a building as possible. The two buildings are off the grid with an air source heat pump and supported with design integrated photovoltaics on the roof. A green sedum roof on the pavilion building connects with the mature trees at the rear of the site.